The contract, which is part of the Caithness to Moray transmission project, will support about 600 jobs with all staff and contractors to be paid at least the living wage of £7.65 per hour, and £7.85 from April 2015.
SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said: "The new Caithness to Moray contract will make sure hundreds of workers on site will get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and reflects our commitment to being a responsible employer."
The SSE’s contract requires ABB to design, engineer, supply and commission high voltage direct current (HVDC) system running between converter stations at Spittal in central Caithness and Blackhillock, near Keith, in Moray.
The new subsea link, which will feature more than 100 miles of underground and subsea cable, will transmit a significant volume of electricity from renewable sources in the north of Scotland.
SHE Transmission is strengthening the power network serving the north of Scotland to meet the growth in renewable sources electricity generation, with about 1,200MW of wind, wave and tidal energy planned to be linked.
The Caithness-Moray link, which is expected to start operations in 2018, will provide enough energy for about 2,000,000 residents in Scotland.
Image: The living wage contract, which is part of the Caithness to Moray transmission project, will support about 600 jobs. Photo: Courtesy of SSE.
