ITI Group has secured a two-year extension to a programme delivering operational technology panels to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution, enabling them to progress a nationwide roll-out of efficiency upgrades to their substation network, and in doing so has created a number of new jobs.

The contract, worth £15million to the Sheffield-based systems integrator, involves a significant upscale in production to the programme, which commenced in 2022 with an initial test and development project to prove the concept. Earlier this year, ITI delivered a large batch of panels of an advanced design following consultation and collaboration with the client to fine tune the solution. Now, with the client impressed by the quality and quantity of delivery, they have made ITI Group the sole supplier in a framework that will deliver 20 panels a month for the next two years.

As a result, ITI Group has invested in additional premises, explicitly for this project, and has recruited and trained a number of new employees to ensure that the orders can be fulfilled to the same exacting levels of quality as those delivered to-date.

As soon as the new facility opened and the panel build commenced, the project team from SSEN Distribution made the trip to Sheffield to view the progress. Stewart Souter, Senior Programme Delivery Lead at SSEN Distribution observed: “The panels delivered so far have been of a really high standard, meaning we’re able to further improve the resilience and reliability of our network for our millions of customers. Seeing the quality processes in place first hand has reinforced our confidence in ITI Group’s ability to handle this increased delivery volume. They’ve made rapid progress in setting up this dedicated new facility as well as employing and upskilling more personnel; and we’re really pleased that our project has resulted in this additional positive outcome of creating new jobs.”

Neil Ferguson, ITI Group’s Account Manager for SSEN Distribution, added: “Whilst ITI Group now has locations globally, we have a long-standing heritage in Sheffield, which we’re really proud of. Its heartwarming to be able to contribute work and skills to the local community whilst delivering technology that contributes to the future sustainability of energy infrastructure for the whole of the UK.”

SSEN (Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks) Distribution’s vision is to upgrade the communications infrastructure to approximately 1500 substations across the UK, with the aim of improving efficiency, in order to achieve output targets at lower operational cost. The end goal is to meet OFGEM pricing targets, whilst maintaining the safe and secure transmission of operational data back from geographically dispersed sub-stations and other electrical infrastructure within the SSEN Distribution portfolio.