The companies have been selected to help the network operator deliver the biggest rewiring of the GB electricity grid since its inception, to meet increasing demand and unlock growth. 

SP Energy Networks’ parent company, ScottishPower, said it will create 1,000 new jobs and deliver tens of thousands more in the supply chain. 

With electricity demand forecast to double, Britain’s grid needs a major upgrade to transport power around the country. 

Seventeen of the 19 contractors chosen to work on the programme are headquartered in the UK and Ireland, demonstrating SP Energy Networks’ commitment to developing the country’s wider supply chain.  

They include businesses like Keltbray Energy Limited, headquartered in Surrey, and recent winners of ScottishPower’s Supplier of the Year Award, who will deliver work across both overhead lines and substations. I&H Brown, the Scottish headquartered family-run civil engineering firm, and RJ McLeod, the Glasgow-based contractors, will help deliver new and upgraded substations. 

The strategic partnership will run for an initial five years, with the option to extend up to 10, giving businesses the long-term confidence and security to in turn invest in their own staff, equipment, technology and services over the period. 

Nicola Connelly, CEO of SP Energy Networks, said: “We’re delivering the biggest overhaul of the electricity grid ever seen to unlock growth and free up network capacity for new homes, businesses and clean energy projects.

“These strategic partnerships will give suppliers the confidence to invest in themselves, growing their workforce, opening new offices across the country and creating even greater opportunities for the UK

“This is great news for the UK and Scottish supply chains, with every pound spent directly benefiting central southern Scotland and its infrastructure for decades to come.”

The agreement includes up to £3bn on new overhead lines and £2.4bn on new and upgraded substations, including design, engineering, construction, and electrical works. 

The successful suppliers joined Nicola Connelly to sign SP Energy Networks’ Delivery Charter at an event at the company’s Glasgow HQ, which outlines the business’s commitment to delivering on green jobs and talent development, a positive impact on communities and a safe working environment.

Preferred partners to the Strategic Agreement for Transmission Overhead Line Works:

• Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited
• Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios SA
• Keltbray Energy Limited
• Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure Ltd
• Morrison Energy Services (Transmission Networks) Ltd
• Painhas S.A.
• Power Lines, Pipes and Cables Limited
• Wood Transmission And Distribution Limited

Preferred partners to the Strategic Agreement for Substation Works:

• Adman Civil Projects Limited
• Amalgamated Construction Ltd
• George Leslie Limited
• I & H. Brown Limited
• Keltbray Energy Limited
• Kirby Group Engineering (UK) Limited
• Linxon UK Ltd
• Luddon Construction Limited
• Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure Ltd
• Morrison Energy Services (Transmission Networks) Ltd
• Northstone (NI) Limited
• Painhas S.A.
• R.J. McLeod (Contractors) Limited
• Siemens Energy Limited
• UK Grid Solutions Limited

SP Energy Networks, part of ScottishPower, owns and operates the transmission network for central and southern Scotland with more than 4,500km of overhead electricity lines, 600 km of underground cables and over 150 substations to transport high voltage power across the region. It also operates undersea high voltage cables and last week was given the go-ahead to progress with a new underwater superhighway off the east coast of Britain.

In September, ScottishPower confirmed it was doubling its investment in the UK to 2028, from £12bn to £24bn, with two thirds focused on electricity networks.

In the coming weeks, SP Energy Networks will submit its five-year business plan for the period 2026 to 2031 to the energy regulator, Ofgem.  These plans will play an important role in helping deliver the UK Government’s Clean Power 2030 ambition.