Kintore-Tealing 400kV Connection

We have today published a new economic report setting out the significant economic benefits associated with our planned £29bn investment in new and upgraded electricity transmission infrastructure across the north of Scotland.

The report, titled ‘Re‑energising the North: Transforming Scotland’, provides an update on our previously outlined economic analysis on plans to invest billions in mission-critical grid infrastructure, providing further insight into the scale of economic opportunity associated with the investment programme.

The report reaffirms our programme as one of the largest private infrastructure investments in Scotland’s history, with around £29bn of planned investment across the north of Scotland in the next five years, and it details the extent of the economic opportunity across the region.

Using advanced economic modelling to analyse the impact of clean power infrastructure investment, the report’s findings conclude that our investment: 

• Will support up to 10,000 jobs in the north of Scotland, and 24,000 across Scotland; 
• When added to investment by other transmission operators and investment in generation will add around £60bn to UK economic output - with the Scottish economy up to 3% larger over the long term; 
• Will deliver long-term improvements in productivity, wages and economic resilience, with employees moving into higher-value roles and key sectors expanding permanently; and 
• Will create unique opportunities for Scottish suppliers, businesses and communities across multiple sectors, including forestry, peatland restoration, aggregates and concrete too. 

The findings highlight the importance of ensuring that the benefits of investment are felt locally, with thousands of skilled jobs, increased supply chain activity, and investment flowing into communities across the north of Scotland.

Read the full News and Views article to find out more.

Following receipt of a request by the Energy Consents Unit on 19 January 2026 for Additional Information on Private Water Supplies (PWS), SSEN Transmission are now formally submitting the requested PWS information as Additional Information. We are also taking the opportunity to make voluntary updates and clarifications to the original 2025 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report. These cover a number of different chapters and appendices and a covering letter and erratum is provided detailing exactly which changes are being made.

These have been uploaded to Documents.

Under Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, the application is seeking consent for the diversion of short sections of the Alyth to Tealing (A-T OHL) and Tealing to Westfield (T-W OHL) 275kV OHLs, which currently connect at their eastern extent with the existing Tealing 275kV substation, to connect with the proposed Emmock 400kV substation. 

Consent for this work has been applied for via a standalone Section 37 application under the Electricity Act 1989 to Scottish Ministers. Consent is also sought under the same application for the installation of two short sections of parallel OHL 'tiebacks' between Emmock substation and Tealing substation (one 275kV, one 400kV).

The project is essential to the completion of the Kintore to Tealing projects, as it would provide the tie-ins for the reconductored A-T OHL and T-W OHL to the proposed Emmock substation as part of the upgraded 400kV transmission infrastructure. This would allow power to keep flowing whilst the wider upgrade works are undertaken.

Viewing the application:  

If you wish to view the Section 37 application, you can do so on the Energy Consents Unit’s website: www.energyconsents.scot. The application reference is: ECU00005204 

All the documentation submitted as part of the application can also be viewed and downloaded via this page.

A hard copy of the application including the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report and supporting documents will also be available to be viewed at the following locations:  

Forfar Library, Angus Mobile Library

Under Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, the application is seeking consent for the installation, operation and maintenance of a new 400kV OHL connection, spanning an approximate length of 106km between Kintore in Aberdeenshire and Tealing in Angus.  

The connection will be delivered via an overhead line of steel lattice towers (commonly referred to as pylons) likely to average around 57m in height.  

This is split into two sections:  

• Approximately 35km of OHL between the 400kV substation currently under construction at Kintore and the proposed new 400kV Hurlie substation.  
• Approximately 72km of OHL between Hurlie and the proposed new 400kV Emmock substation. 

Viewing the application:  

If you wish to view the Section 37 application, you can do so on the Energy Consents Unit’s website: www.energyconsents.scot. The application reference is: ECU00005225. 

All the documentation submitted as part of the application can also be viewed and downloaded via our dedicated project webpage. 

A hard copy of the application including the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report and supporting documents will also be available to be viewed at the following locations:  

Angus Council – Angus House, Culter Library, Fintry Library, Inverurie Library, Mearns Community Library, Stonehaven Library and Westhill Library.  

We have also provided additional copies at Kirriemuir Library and The Jenner Centre, Brechin. 

To assist with further information and the opening times of the venues hosting copies of the EIA, we have also produced some Frequently Asked Questions regarding our overhead line Section 37 consent application.  

For many years, volunteering has been part of our commitment to giving back. At SSEN Transmission, we believe in being an active and supportive part of the communities we serve — especially across the north of Scotland where we operate and plan future projects.

Whether it’s planting trees, cleaning beaches, or helping out in community gardens, our teams are proud to lend their time and skills to local groups and charities. We’ve now launched a new Volunteering webpage to make it easier for communities to request support from us.

If you’re part of a local community group or charity that could benefit from a helping hand, we’d love to hear from you. Just complete our online ‘Volunteering Nomination Form’ found on our volunteering webpage. It only takes a couple of minutes to get started.

Please note, it may take us a little while to match volunteering requests with available teams. We really appreciate your patience as we get things moving and work to keep up with demand.

In accordance with the Priority Applications for Transmission Infrastructure guidance: Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, SSEN Transmission has held the Procedural Gatecheck meeting with the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) and is issuing this notice to provide advance notice to the statutory consultees, relevant Planning Authorities, affected landowners and local stakeholders of the date the s37 application is to be made.  

We intend to submit the s37 application for the Kintore – Tealing 400kV OHL Connection by 5 September 2025. 

Next Steps:  

Following s37 submission, the ECU will undertake a validation process to confirm the application is complete.  This may take approximately one to two weeks.  Upon confirmation the application is complete, SSEN Transmission will issue statutory public notices in National and Local Press in accordance with The Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017. In addition, we shall notify our stakeholders and issue a wider general press release.  

Alongside the statutory notifications, the s37 application will be available on the ECU Website Scottish Government - Energy Consents Unit, SSEN Transmission Project Website (ssen-transmission.co.uk/TKUP) and printed copies will be provided for members of the public to view at various locations along the length of the proposed overhead line. Details of the viewing locations will be provided in the public notices, within the s37 application, provided to stakeholders on our mailing list and available on our website.  

SSEN Transmission will issue further communications, after validation, providing information on how representations can be made to Scottish Ministers.  

Further information on the s37 submission process can be found here: 2. Background - Priority Applications for Transmission Infrastructure guidance: Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 - gov.scot  

Following public consultation events on the proposed alignment for our overhead line in February/March 2025, we received feedback from a wide range of stakeholders including, but not limited to local community members, landowners, local heritage groups, statutory consultees and developers. 

Once again, we would like to thank all those who took the time to attend our in-person consultation events, read through our consultation materials and provided valuable feedback.  

Previous timeline 

Our intention, as communicated during the previous public consultation, was to submit our Section 37 planning application in late Spring 2025. 

Updated timeline 

Due to further consideration of feedback from the final round of consultation earlier in the year and compiling the extensive Environmental Impact Assessment Report which will accompany our consent submission, we will now look to submit our Section 37 planning application in Summer 2025.  

We will update interested parties on the submission date closer to the time and we will publicise when the application is live and how and where interested parties can give their views.  

Any comments made to us as the Applicant are not representations to Scottish Ministers as the decision makers. There will be opportunity to make formal representations to Scottish Ministers via the Energy Consents Unit following the submission of the Section 37 application in Summer 2025.  

Our interactive consultation portal and fly through video will remain available. This allows you to view and access photosphere visualisations as well as viewing a flyover video of the whole proposed overhead line. 

All of the material that was on display at our events is available to download via the project ‘Documents’ section of this project website.  Please let us know if you require information in an adapted format such as paper copy, large print or braille and we will work with you to accommodate your preferences. We are happy to accommodate all reasonable requests for adapted communications.

We would like to thank all local community members and stakeholders who took the time to attend our recent February/March 2025 public consultation feedback events which took place between 24 February – 13 March 2025 with 11 in person events covering the Kintore-Tealing 400kV connection project. 

Our feedback period on the proposed alignment remains open until 28 March 2025. We welcome everyone to submit their feedback regarding the proposed alignment presented during the events and welcome comments on how we can engage with you during the next phase of the project via any of the below methods; 

Online: Feedback form

Email: tkup@sse.com  

Post: SSEN Transmission, 200 Dunkeld Road, Perth, PH1 3GH 

Our interactive consultation portal and fly through will remain available throughout the feedback period, you can access this here. This allows you to view and access photosphere visualisations of the overhead line. You can also access the online feedback from direct via the portal.  

All of the material that was on display at our events is available in ‘Documents’.  Please let us know if you require information in an adapted format such as paper copy, large print or braille and we will work with you to accommodate your preferences. We are happy to accommodate all reasonable requests for adapted communications.

Any comments made to us as the Applicant are not representations to Scottish Ministers as the decision makers. There will be opportunity to make formal representations to Scottish Ministers via the Energy Consents Unit following the submission of the section 37 application in Spring 2025.

We are committed to supporting the communities in the north of Scotland where we operate, both now and in the future. As part of our ongoing efforts to make a difference and have a positive impact on local communities, we are proud to offer volunteering days to local groups and charities, particularly in the areas that host our electricity infrastructure or where our proposed projects are located. 

This month, we’re excited to announce the launch of our new Volunteering Webpage, designed to make it easier for local communities to request volunteering support from us. To request our help, simply complete the ‘Volunteering Nomination Form’ linked at the bottom of our new webpage. Please note, as our team works on a voluntary basis, it may take us some time to coordinate our people and match them with opportunities. We kindly ask for your patience as we work to keep up with volunteering demand.

Thank you for considering SSEN Transmission as a partner in your community efforts. Together, we can leave a positive, lasting legacy and help transform communities across the north of Scotland.

We are pleased to announce the commencement of the final period of public feedback on the project.
 

We are hosting these events to present the Proposed Alignment for the overhead line and our responses to feedback received at the last round of consultation events in September and October 2024.

We will be sharing our proposed alignment for the overhead line, presented through maps and visualisations.

Interested parties can attend our drop-in events to discuss our plans with the project team and share views.

We would encourage members of the local community and all interested parties to attend the events.
 

If you are unable to attend any of the planned in-person events, all the material that will be on display can also be downloaded from the documents section of this dedicated project website.
 

At this final stage of development, we are not seeking comment or feedback on further refinement to the proposed alignment but welcome comments on how we can engage with you during the next phase of the project. You can submit this until 28 March 2025 via the feedback form on the project website, by emailing tkup@sse.com or writing to us at SSEN Transmission, 200 Dunkeld Rd, Perth, PH1 3GH.

Following the previous rounds of consultation events, we have compiled ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ to address many of these points which can be viewed here.

SSEN Transmission has today published its final Report on Consultation (ROC) for a proposed new 400kV overhead line running from Kintore to Tealing.

The ROC provides a summary of the feedback received in response to the potential and alternative alignment proposals for the overhead line presented at the public consultations we undertook in September and October last year, how this has been considered, and confirmation of the alignment option intended to be taken forward as the Proposed Alignment in our consent application. The ROC is now available to download from the Documents tab of this website as well as a summary report.

The dates and venues for the upcoming February and March public feedback events can be found on our events page.

We would once again like to thank all stakeholders who took the time to engage with our consultation process.

Hard copies will be available during our upcoming public feedback events, and copies left accessible in local village halls where permitted.

We are pleased to be hosting the next series of public events across the project route from 24 February until 13 March 2025.

We will be sharing our final proposed alignment for the overhead line, presented through maps and visualisations.

Interested parties can attend our drop-in events to discuss our plans with the project team and share views.

We would encourage members of the local community and all interested parties to attend the events.

The open-door drop-in face to face consultations will be held at the following locations;

Monday 24 February, 2-7pm at Kintore Public Hall, 12 School Road, Kintore, AB51 0UX

Tuesday 25 February, 2-7pm at Echt Hall, Echt, Westhill, AB32 6UL

Wednesday 26 February, 2-7pm at Drumoak, Durris & Crathes Bowling Club, Sunnyside Avenue, Drumoak, AB31 5EF

Thursday 27 February, 2-7pm at Durris Kirkton Hall, Kirkton of Durris, Banchory, AB31 6BP

Monday 3 March, 2-7pm at Drumlithie Village Hall, Station Road, Drumlithie, AB39 3YT

Tuesday 4 March, 1-6pm at Inglis Memorial Hall, High St, Edzell, Brechin DD9 7TF

Wednesday 5 March, 2-7pm at Dickson Memorial Hall, Station Road, Laurencekirk, AB30 1BE

Monday 10 March, 2-7pm at Menmuir Hall, Brechin, DD9 7RN

Tuesday 11 March, 2-7pm at Memus Community Hall, Memus, Forfar, DD8 3TY

Wednesday 12 March, 2-7pm at Forfar Reid Hall, Castle Street, Forfar, DD8 3HX

Thursday  13 March, 2-7pm at Tealing Village Hall, Hall Road, Inveraldie, Tealing, DD4 0QW

We will be publishing our Report on Consultation shortly which documents the last round of the consultation process undertaken in September and October 2024. The Report will confirm the final overhead line alignment being taken forward for planning consent and development.  We will update you when this has been published. 

This week SSEN Transmission hosted a webinar to outline the differences behind technology options which will help transform the electricity grid in the north of Scotland in the journey to net zero. 

The webinar, titled ‘Overground, underground, or subsea - how decisions are made on where electricity transmission lines go’, explore topics such as the comparison between the different transmission technologies and the complexities and challenges that come with transporting the huge amount of renewable energy being generated across the country to where it is needed.

Watch the full webinar within News and Views. Video length is approximately 1 hour 25 minutes. 

We would like to thank all local community members and stakeholders who took the time to attend our recent September/October 2024 public consultation events which took place between 23 September – 10 October 2024 with 12 in person events covering the Kintore-Tealing 400kV connection project. 

Our feedback period on the potential alignment and alternative alignment options remains open until 21 November 2024. We welcome everyone to submit their feedback regarding the alignment proposals presented during consultation via any of the below methods; 

Online: Feedback form

Email: tkup@sse.com  

Post: SSEN Transmission, 200 Dunkeld Road, Perth, PH1 3GH 

Our interactive consultation portal and fly through will remain available throughout the feedback period, you can access this here. This allows you to  view and access photosphere visualisations of the overhead line. You can also access the online feedback from direct via the portal.  

All of the material that was on display at all of our consultation events is available to download via the project ‘Documents’ section of this project website.  Please let us know if you require information in an adapted format such as paper copy, large print or braille and we will work with you to accommodate your preferences. We are happy to accommodate all reasonable requests for adapted communications.

Any comments made to us as the Applicant are not representations to Scottish Ministers as the decision makers. There will be opportunity to make formal representations to Scottish Ministers via the Energy Consents Unit following the submission of the section 37 application.

We have created an interactive consultation portal where you can view and access photosphere visualisations of the overhead line, this can be accessed here. 

Specialist company 3DW have designed the following video to allow viewers to see what the proposed Kintore - Tealing 400kV connection project will look like when complete.

We are pleased to announce the commencement of the next period of public consultation.

The consultation consists of:

· Formal consultation for newly proposed potential and alternative OHL alignments

We will be sharing our potential alignment for the overhead line, with alternative alignment options in some locations, presented through maps and visualisations.

Interested parties can attend our drop-in events to discuss our plans with the project team and share views.

We would encourage members of the local community and all interested parties to attend the events.

If you are unable to attend any of the planned in-person events, all the material that will be on display can also be downloaded from the project documents section of this dedicated project website.

You can submit your feedback until 21 November 2024 for the alignment consultation via the feedback form on the project website, by emailing tkup@sse.com or writing to us at SSEN Transmission, 200 Dunkeld Rd, Perth, PH1 3GH.

Following the events held in March 2024, many enquiries we received were about the need for the project, the engagement process, environmental considerations, and what alternative technologies may be available. We have compiled ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ to address many of these points which can be viewed here.

Consultation Portal

We have created an interactive consultation portal where you can view and access photosphere visualisations of the overhead line, this can be accessed here. 

We would like to thank all local community members and stakeholders who took the time to attend our recent March 2024 public consultation events which took place 4 – 21 March with 10 in person events covering the Kintore-Tealing 400kV projects.

Our public consultation on new routes D4, D5, E2, E3 and F1.3 remains open until 30 April. We welcome all interested parties to submit their feedback regarding the proposals presented during consultation via;

Online feedback form: Kintore - Tealing Overhead Line 400kV New Route Consultation Feedback Form 

Email: tkup@sse.com 

Post: FAO Rhiannon Merritt, SSEN Transmission, 10 Henderson Road, Inverness, IV1 1SN

Our virtual consultation portal will remain available throughout the consultation period here.

Copies of the consultation booklet, maps and consultation document are available to download via the ‘Project Documents’ section of this project website.

We are pleased to announce the commencement of the next period of public consultation.

The consulation consists of:

• Formal consultation for newly proposed OHL routes:
  • D4 & D5 - Laurencekirk to the Proposed Hurlie Substation (at Fetteresso)
  • E2 & E3 - Proposed Hurlie Substation to Rickarton
  • F1.3 - River Dee to Coldstream, by Drumoak

• An update on all other OHL proposed routes, including refined routes following our consultations in May 2023.

A series of public events will be held in March for this project:

All events will run from 2-7pm.

Kintore-Tealing 400kV new route consultation

14 March Laurencekirk, Dickson Memorial Hall, Station Road, Laurencekirk, AB30 1BE

19 March Drumlithie, Drumlithie Village Hall, Station Road, Drumlithie, AB39 3YT

20 March Drumoak, Drumoak, Durris & Crathes Bowling Club, Sunnyside Avenue, Drumaok, AB31 5EF

21 March Auchenblae, Auchenblae Village Hall, Monboddo Street, Auchenblae, AB30 1XQ

Kintore-Tealing 400kV OHL update events

5 March Tannadice, Memus Community Hall, Memus, DD8 3TY

6 March Forfar, Reid Hall, 163 Castle Street, Forfar, DD8 3HX

7 March Tealing, Tealing Village Hall, Hall Road, Inveraldie, Tealing, DD4 0QW

12 March Brechin, Brechin City Hall, 9 Swan Street, Brechin, DD9 6EE

13 March Echt, Echt Hall, Echt, Westhill, AB32 6UL

If you are unable to attend any of the planned in-person events, all the material that will be on display can also be downloaded from the project documents section of this dedicated project website.

You can submit your feedback until 30 April 2024 for the new route consultation via the feedback form on the project website, by emailing tkup@sse.com or writing to us at SSEN Transmission, 10 Henderson Road, Inverness, IV1 1SN.

Following the events held in May 2023, many enquiries we received were about the need for the projects, the engagement process, environmental considerations, and what alternative technologies may be available. We have compiled ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ to address many of these points which can be viewed here.

The recording of the event and slide packs are available below for those who were unable to attend.

• Recording of the event
• Slide pack

Our Reports on Consultation across our three new overhead line projects and associated substation and convertor station developments have now been published. These reports provide a summary of the extensive feedback received during consultation, how this has been considered and confirmation of which routes and substations are now being taken forward to the next stage of development. 

Our Reports on Consultation are now available to download from the Project Documentation tab. 

Summary Reports on Consultation are also available for each of the three schemes and can be downloaded below:  

• Summary Report on Consultation Beauly to Peterhead  
• Summary Report on Consultation Spittal to Beauly
• Summary Report on Consultation Kintore to Tealing

A stakeholder webinar available for all to join will be held in the coming weeks to share the changes informed by the feedback. More information about the forthcoming webinar will be shared on our events page shortly.   

In further recognition of community feedback, we will seek to rationalise cumulative infrastructure impacts through the removal and undergrounding of existing transmission lines, where technically practical and appropriate, and subject to all necessary planning consents and landowner agreements. 

Work to identify and assess potential sections of existing overhead line where their removal will reduce cumulative impacts is ongoing, with an update expected as part of the next round of public consultation on overhead line alignments and more detailed substation designs in early 2024.  

We would once again like to thank all stakeholders who took the time to engage with our early consultation process. We will continue to engage with stakeholders ahead of consulting further with local communities and stakeholders in the new year, as we look to refine our proposals.

Over the course of this year, we have undertaken extensive consultation on plans to upgrade the electricity transmission network across the north of Scotland and have received a considerable amount of feedback from a wide range of stakeholders regarding our proposals. 

We recently advised in our next steps for 2030 network developments update that following assessment of consultation feedback and additional options analysis, we would publish our Report on Consultations (RoCs). These reports provide a summary of the feedback received and how it has been considered, which options we will take forward to the next stage of the development process and any changes to options initially consulted on.  

It is our intention to publish the RoCs for this project in the coming months. All stakeholders signed up for updates on the project will receive a link to the report and we will also issue Summary Reports to help ensure accessibility. 

These Report on Consultations mark the completion of the first round of non-statutory consultation, where we sought feedback on the corridor, route, and substation locations. We will be consulting further with local communities and stakeholders in the new year, as we look to refine the projects, therefore we welcome an open channel of communication and would like to reassure all stakeholders that there will be further opportunities to engage on this project.

Our Reports on Consultation and Summary Reports on Consultation are now available to download from the Project Documentation tab.

We have announced our next steps for our Pathway to 2030 programme of projects. We would like to thank everyone who has engaged with our teams and kindly taken the time to respond to our consultations.
Full details of the announcement can be found here:
Next steps for Pathway to 2030

We have recently started localised surveys, assessments and ground investigation works at various locations across the Pathway to 2030 projects which will be used to help gather information to inform the next stage of development for a major electricity transmission network upgrade in the north of Scotland.

Over the coming weeks and months, our project teams and contractors will undertake a series of site-specific assessments which include the likes of ground investigations, bird surveys, LiDAR flights, and ecological and archaeological walkovers and assessments.

Ground investigation works have either recently commenced or are set to begin throughout the Summer for the new 400kV substation and converter stations proposed as part of our East Coast 400kV phase 2, Spittal – Loch Buidhe – Beauly 400kV connection, Western Isles connection and Beauly – Blackhillock – New Deer – Peterhead 400kV connection projects. Project teams and contractors will undertake a series of site-specific assessments which will help provide vital information and key data for the next phase of project development.

Some of the geo-technical ground investigations may involve drilling boreholes or digging trial pits, which will allow engineers to understand the geographical make-up and suitability of the ground in certain locations to help inform potential design options. 

Site assessments and survey works are a key part of the project development process, and the results of these investigations will provide project teams with valuable information to help inform decisions regarding substation site selections and overhead line routes, which will be subject to further consultation later this year.

Initial surveys will prioritise sites and routes which performed the best based on our initial assessment of key environmental and people, technical, and economic factors, and there have been no decisions taken on locations as yet.

There may be more activity on the ground over the summer, and whilst most assessments are expected to cause very little local disruption, we would like to thank the local community for their patience whilst they are carried out. Where more evasive assessments are required such as ground investigation works, we will work to keep local disruption and environmental impacts to a minimum. Please contact your local Community Liaison Manager if you have any questions.

We are pleased to be hosting both face to face public consultations along with a virtual online consultation exhibition to gain views and feedback on our proposals for the East Coast 400kV phase 2 scheme, which the proposed new Kintore to Tealing 400kV overhead line project is part of.

We would encourage members of the local communities and all interested parties to attend the events, meet the proejct team and and give their views and provide feedback. The face to face consultations will be held at the following locations:

2 May at Milne Hall, Kirkton of Skene between 2-7pm
3 May at Ardoe House Hotel in the Ogston Suite between 2-7pm
4 May at Dickson Hall, Laurencekirk between 2-7pm
9 May at Brechin City Hall, Brechin between 2-7pm
10 May at Westmuir Hall, Kirriemuir between 2-7pm 
11 May at Tealing Village Hall, Tealing between 2-7pm 

The virtual consultation event will be taking place on:

17 May between 4-6pm

Click here to enter our virtual consultation room

Should you have any questions regarding the consultations please contact the projects Community Liaison Manager.