Maintaining a collaborative approach on social media

Mark-McLaughlin-Headshot

 

 

A blog by SSEN Transmission's Director of Legal, Mark McLaughlin

 

 

At SSEN Transmission, we’re all committed to developing the new electricity transmission infrastructure projects that have been asked of us in a way that considers the views of all stakeholders and mitigates against their concerns as much as possible. 
 
That’s why the extensive and thorough consultation process that we have undertaken so far in delivering our £20bn ‘Pathway to 2030’ investment programme has been so important. Our consultation events have been constructive and impactful, with our project and community engagement teams working tirelessly to understand the thoughts and concerns of local community members, resulting in significant changes to our project plans – and new proposals being actively considered too. 

Concerned employee.pngCaption: Recent social media posts could be perceived as threatening and encouraging violence towards our employees.

Meaningful engagement relies on a constructive attitude being taken by all parties. We have seen a number social media posts uploaded recently directed towards SSEN Transmission that could be perceived as threatening and encouraging violence towards our employees. Another significant concern involves posts suggesting ways to cause damage to our high voltage equipment which risks serious harm or death to members of the public. 
 
The safety and wellbeing of the public and our employees is of paramount importance, especially as we deliver another round of face-to-face public engagement and pre-application consultation events across May and June, and any acts perceived to be aggressive or threatening, either in-person or online, will not be tolerated. If online, these will be reported to the social media platform and the police may also be informed. 

Our £20bn programme will help unlock cleaner, more secure energy for homes and businesses for generations to come and is one of the biggest investment programmes that the north of Scotland has seen for decades. 
 
Let’s work together to help the north of Scotland realise the benefits of this investment, whilst delivering energy security and net zero with respect and dignity, in a way that shows care and consideration for local impact this infrastructure will have.