ScottishPower is on course to place over £3 billion of contracts in 2016, a record year for the company, as investments increase in renewable energy, smart meters and reinforcing the company’s network of power lines and substations in Scotland and Merseyside and North Wales.
At an awards forum with a wide range of the company’s large and small suppliers in Glasgow today (Tuesday 13th September), ScottishPower’s Chief Corporate Officer Keith Anderson stated that over £2.2 billion of contracts have already been placed this year to date, with planned contracts set to take that figure over £3 billion by the end of the year.
ScottishPower presented awards to some of the suppliers who have helped the company to successfully plan and deliver some of the most important projects they have ever undertaken in the UK. Winners included:
- Innovation Category Winner - Lithium Technologies
A global leader in Social Media, Lithium offers a well-established, best in breed Social Media Customer Service platform. Since moving to the platform earlier this year ScottishPower is already beginning to see the benefits, and are now the fastest to respond to customer service queries in the industry. Lithium have been working closely with ScottishPower to adapt their product. They have helped to create what we believe to be the first truly integrated 360 degree customer view digital customer service platform.
- Customer Service Winner – C. Spratt Multi Utility
Relatively new tier 1 contractor working on our cable laying & excavation in the Glasgow region. SP Energy Networks has been very impressed by the levels of service provided. They have provided excellent customer responsiveness, good quality and imaginative solutions during our partnership. One excavation in particular working in Glasgow City Centre over a weekend was a benchmark in project management and customer communications.
- Best SME Winner - A&M Energy Solutions
A&M Energy Solutions have been a strong delivery partner to ScottishPower for 18 years in the field of domestic carbon abatement and fuel poverty government obligation programmes. As a family owned business based in St Helens, they are strategically placed to assist with the delivery of domestic insulation and heating measures in our traditional supply areas of Merseyside and North Wales and we work jointly with them to build relationships with many Local Authorities and Housing Providers in the region alongside our commitment to Welsh Government insulation targets.
- Health & Safety Winner – Roadbridge
The civil works contractor at the 69MW Dersalloch Windfarm, Roadbridge have fostered tremendous co-ordination and co-operation with the other contractors. Their site welfare facilities that set a new benchmark for windfarms. Roadbridge display a proactive approach to H&S including development of a tablet App system for their HSE audits.
- Emergency Response Winner - SPIE ENS
Storms are one of the highest risk issues in our business and we rely heavily on our contractors in these times. SPIE ENS have developed an excellent partnership with SP Energy Networks over the last 5 years to respond to storm related incidents and no doubt we will need that again this year.
- Large Scale Infrastructure Winner - NorthStone Limited
Undertaking the civil and electrical works at the flagship 239MW Kilgallioch Windfarm, NorthStone Limited have performed very well in terms of quality, programme, health and safety and customer service. Kilgallioch is the sixth SPR windfarm project they have undertaken over a period of 8 years with a total installed capacity of 537MW - all delivered safely and to programme.
Keith Anderson, ScottishPower’s Chief Corporate Officer, said: “To help us deliver some of the most important projects we have ever undertaken, this year we year we have placed more contracts than ever before, with companies ranging from global industry leaders to small local suppliers. The energy industry is evolving, and we are delivering innovation in renewables and efficient networks, as well as helping to change the way customers engage with energy through the upgrade to smart meters. Every contract we place supports important jobs and creates opportunities for growth, and we plan to continue investing significantly to strengthen the UK’s energy sector in the years ahead. With these contracts we are showing the significant role we play in driving forward the UK's industrial strategy and the economic benefit we bring to the country.”
Major projects currently being delivered by ScottishPower include the construction of eight onshore windfarms in Scotland, as well as the 714 megawatt East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm off the Suffolk coast. More than £540 million is being spent this year to strengthen the network of cables, power lines and substations that keep the lights on for 2.5 million homes and businesses in Scotland, Merseyside and North Wales. The company is also installing around 1,000 smart meters every day as part of the UK-wide home metering upgrade.
Contracts placed this year range from the largest ever agreed in the world for offshore wind turbines with Siemens, which will see blades manufactured in Hull, to a cable contract for work in Glasgow with Renfrewshire-based family run business C. Spratt Multi Utility. In total across the UK, ScottishPower contracts and investment are supporting around 78,000 jobs across the supply chain.
One of the winners, Chris Spratt, owner of C. Spratt Multi Utility Ltd, said: “We have been working for SP Energy Networks across the Glasgow region since the end of 2015, fixing faults and delivering planned maintenance work on a network of over 7,500 km of cables. Our work helps to keep the lights on for more than 420,000 homes and businesses. We have a team of 42 people working on the contract, and we are pleased to be delivering very important projects in our local area."