SSEN Transmission wraps up a year of innovation success

SSEN Transmission’s Innovation team is celebrating a landmark year, which saw the launch of a refreshed strategy and significant progress on work to promote innovation while delivering a network for net zero. 

The diverse range of projects, partnerships and initiatives led by the team included the deployment of ‘Haggis’ a cutting-edge robot that was successfully deployed at SSEN Transmission’s HVDC switching station at Blackhillock - where it is responsible for monitoring vital equipment via a series of cameras and sensors including state-of-the-art visual, thermal, and acoustic imaging.  

Other achievements include: 

• The launch of a refreshed Innovation Strategy and creation of internal Innovation Challenge Groups, driving increased engagement across the business and creating new opportunities for innovation. 

• Dynamic Line Rating (DLR) and Pollution Monitoring Sensors installed across our network, providing real-time asset and weather data to enhance operational efficiency. 

• Completion of Low Profile 132kV Poles Testing 
• Success in the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) solidifying SSEN Transmission’s position as industry leaders. 

Alan Ritchie, from SSEN Transmission’s Innovation team, said: "We’ve been on an exciting innovation journey over the past year, successfully completing five projects and adding eight new projects to our portfolio, with an estimated benefit value of £660 million.  

“Collaboration was central to our success, involving multiple business functions and partnerships that contributed extensive knowledge and expertise to support project delivery. 

“Overall, we anticipate that our RIIO-T2 innovation portfolio has the potential to generate upwards of £190 million in benefits by the end of RIIO-T3 price control period, demonstrating our substantial contributions to the sector and our dedication to using innovation to deliver a sustainable, resilient, and efficient electricity network for the future.”