Recent world events have laid bare the high cost of over-reliance on imported fuels. In March 2026, when conflict broke out in the Middle East, gas prices doubled as traders assessed the market impact. But UK power prices remained broadly in line with the previous year, held down by increased renewable energy production delivered to markets by enhanced electricity networks. 

As the world took stock of that first month of fighting in March, we were busy generating 1.7TWh of power from wind and hydro sources, transmitting 1.56TWh of clean homegrown energy through the system and dispatching the most efficient flexible thermal plant in Europe to provide vital system back-up. There is no greater demonstration of the economic benefits of the energy transition: clean power offering improved energy independence and reducing the national exposure to volatility in commodity markets. 

I am very proud of SSE’s contribution to this, and excited about the progress we have made in accelerating these positive dynamics through my first year as Chief Executive.

Delivering world-class assets

Right now, the most critical piece in the energy transition jigsaw is the transmission network in the north of Scotland. Last summer, I took a helicopter ride tracking the routes of the overhead lines that we will build through the ASTI and LOTI investments over the next few years; I also visited the construction sites at Netherton and the planned location of Fanellan substation, both key strategic points on the new network we are preparing. The scale of the investment is vast, and the need to bring communities with us is significant, but progress continues to be on track.

Back in November, we talked about achieving consents and starting immediately on the work of building out infrastructure that will ease system constraints and send more low-cost clean energy into markets that would otherwise be supplied by expensive imported gas.

Since then, visiting sites and watching how drawings are becoming buildings and assets has been quite incredible; all done to the highest standards and, of course, with the utmost consideration of our team’s safety and the impact we are having on the environment around us.

And the progress we’re making with world-class renewables infrastructure is equally impressive. I’m pleased with the progress on Dogger Bank offshore wind farm. These are complex projects undertaken in difficult conditions, and the first phase had its challenges. Dogger Bank A is now delivering into the national grid as commissioning works continue. At the same time, we are rapidly installing turbines on Dogger Bank B and immediately generating into the market.  

By the time we complete the full wind farm, it will be producing 6% of the UK’s current demand at a CfD price well below the current market price. Dogger Bank offers outstanding value to bill payers, and if we end up building all three phases of Berwick Bank, the volumes we will produce will be even greater.

The renewables industry has been through a tough time thanks to supply chain challenges and planning blockages, but we have held our capital discipline and restructured for optimal efficiency while continuing to invest in both our engineering and operational skillsets. We believe that our response will not only benefit investors, but will have a significant positive impact on consumers and society as a whole.

Committed to excellence

Every business we operate has increased relevance as a result of the geopolitical context. We have known for some time that the growing need for electrification offers increasing capex possibilities for our distribution licences as consumer demand for power connections and usage increases.

We have seen this accelerate over the second half of the last financial year; and whilst we have been careful not to overstate the possibilities for data centres, opportunities are emerging in our southern region.

In the summer of 2025, I spent time with some of our engineers looking after low-voltage networks and observed first-hand real skill backed by an exemplary safety culture.Later I watched the same teams deal with the impacts of Storm Floris with the highest levels of customer empathy and professionalism. During this event we experienced record 82mph wind gusts for August which knocked out supply for 72,000 of our customers. It is testimony to the team that 98% of customers had been
restored within 48 hours despite the very difficult working conditions. Again, it speaks of a level of operational excellence that  extends across every business in the SSE Group. And that has been the outstanding takeaway from my first year as Chief Executive; all our businesses are positioned positively behind a commercial purpose of providing clean, homegrown, reliable energy supply. My message to everyone at SSE has been that delighting our customers and our stakeholders as we provide our part of the energy transition is a key measure of success. Our people are rightly proud of the 14,506GWh of renewable energy we produced last year; the 10.8GW of electricity (mostly clean) we moved through our networks and delivered to end users; and the promise of delivering the substantial national benefit of the £33bn investment plan that we outlined to investors in November last year and remain fully on track to deliver.

Change for the better

That does not mean we haven’t embraced change over the last few months. My best wishes and thanks go to a number of well-regarded senior colleagues who have left SSE, some after long periods 
of exceptional service. Naturally, this has created opportunities, and I’m excited about the arrival of executive hires in IT, Procurement, Legal, Sustainability, and Business Development. The fresh experience and insights our new colleagues bring to the organisation, and a deepening of our management pools, will enable our continued growth and success. The Group Executive Committee and I have spent significant time evolving our culture into something that everyone at SSE can get behind as we focus on strategic delivery and sector-leading performance. 

This has led to a new purpose statement: “Be restless every day until we make electricity clean, affordable and available for all.” And the way we execute that purpose will be guided by behaviours that emphasise accountability, ambition, honesty and commerciality right across SSE.

The case for electrification 

There is real impetus behind electrification of the economy, driven by consumer behaviour as much as anything else. We need look no further than the recent surge in EV demand in response to energy cost concerns. But the energy transition that is needed to support electrification will require industry and governments to work in tandem.  While maintaining our strict political neutrality, over the past year we have taken a more robust position on what we believe the correct policy responses should be to the cycles and contexts that continually emerge. On that basis I am pleased to report that we have enjoyed good access to, and constructive engagement with, all governments and regulators and we’ve used that to advocate for the mutual best interests of investors and consumers. It has also been pleasing to see that the UK Government’s response to recent events has been to double down on its clean power agenda, increasing budget for renewables auctions and taking steps to speed up consenting times for grid infrastructure. This broadly aligns with our strong view that Networks, Renewables and Flexibility offer the best value for energy users. And tangible benefits from our investments are already coming through, with the network system operator confirming in May that SSEN Transmission’s work to reduce constraint costs delivered almost £300m of savings for consumers in the last year alone. 

The value of resilience 

Above all, my first year as Chief Executive has provided me with a stark reminder that in a world of ever-increasing uncertainty, our carefully integrated portfolio offers resilience in most market scenarios and the opportunity for long-term growth and enduring value creation. As markets have fallen and spiked, as global politicians have debated and contested, as new events have surprised and amazed, what is evident is that SSE continues to play an important role in a transformative shift to an energy system that is not only secure but cleaner and more affordable, too. Backed by an astonishing depth of capability and a striking employee commitment to achieving our purpose, we are strongly placed to deliver against the plans we set out last November, and pivot to further growth as policy converges with the energy transition. It makes me feel proud and indeed privileged to have the opportunity to lead SSE at this time.