SSEN Transmission has signed the first agreements for new homes as part of a programme to upgrade Scotland’s electricity grid.

They are part of the Perth-headquartered business’s pledge to support the delivery 1,000 homes across the north of Scotland to help with recruiting workers.

Under the two agreements nearly 100 homes will be built in the Western Isles and 47 in Brechin in Angus.

SSEN Transmission stepped in with significant funding for preparatory work on the Stornoway development that will enable work by local firm CalMax Construction to progress. 

The homes – expected to be completed by the end of 2027 – will initially accommodate workers involved in the construction of SSEN Transmission’s proposed Lewis Hub but will then be made available to the local community, with the majority to be delivered as affordable housing through a partnership between CalMax Construction and Tighean Innse Gall (TIG). 

SSEN Transmission is providing multi-million-pound funding for the Brechin Infirmary Housing Development which relates to the proposed Kintore to Tealing 400kV overhead line project.

Rob McDonald, SSEN Transmission’s managing director, said:  “We are committed to a positive legacy across the north of Scotland from the grid upgrades needed to achieve energy security and clean power, and these first two announcements of new housing in Stornoway and Brechin are all about turning our determination to deliver into bricks and mortar.”