Vodafone has struck a multi-year deal with SP Energy Networks (SPEN), the energy infrastructure arm of ScottishPower, to overhaul and future-proof telecom systems that underpin Scotland’s electricity distribution and transmission grid.
The four-year partnership will see Vodafone modernize SPEN’s operational telecom network — a vast digital nervous system that spans tens of thousands of substations, overhead lines, and underground cables serving around two million homes and businesses across central and southern Scotland.
The agreement is part of SPEN’s broader £10.6 billion investment plan to revamp its electricity infrastructure, aligning it with the UK’s accelerating transition to renewable energy.
Digitizing the Grid’s Backbone
SPEN’s operational footprint is enormous. Its network covers:
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19,500 substations
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23,000km of overhead lines
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41,000km of underground cables
The collaboration will focus on delivering capital projects to enhance system resilience and efficiency. Vodafone will provide routine maintenance, multi-channel connectivity via fixed, mobile, and satellite technologies, and critical operational support designed to cut outages and shorten fault repair times.
Tom Stockwell, Vodafone UK’s head of key accounts, called the agreement more than a modernization effort.
“It is not only about future-proofing SPEN’s distribution and transmission networks, but also about using connectivity on The Nation’s Network to develop new capabilities that benefit everyone — consumers, businesses, and our environment.”
A Smarter Grid for a Greener Future
SPEN’s modernisation push is central to the UK’s renewable energy goals. The company aims to connect up to 19 gigawatts (GW) of new clean energy to the grid in the coming years. To achieve that, the underlying telecom infrastructure — which facilitates real-time monitoring, fault detection, and load balancing — must be upgraded to handle higher complexity and demand.
Paul Garston, SPEN’s head of smart grid operations, emphasized the scale of the transformation:
“We’re delivering the biggest upgrade our grid has ever seen, ensuring our electricity network supports a cleaner and greener future for us all.
Having the right partners is key to achieving that ambition, so it’s great to welcome Vodafone on board to maintain and modernize our Operational Telecom infrastructure and ensure it continues to deliver for our customers and communities for years to come.”
Critical Infrastructure Gets Digital Muscle
The deal marks another milestone in Vodafone’s expansion into mission-critical industrial connectivity. The telecoms provider has increasingly targeted utilities, transport, and manufacturing with bespoke, high-resilience solutions — part of a broader strategy to diversify beyond consumer mobile.
With grid modernization front and centre in UK climate policy, the telecom layer is fast becoming as crucial as the steel and copper beneath it.
The Vodafone-SPEN deal includes:
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Modernized telecoms architecture across all SPEN assets
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Integrated mobile, fixed-line, and satellite connectivity to support distributed grid control
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Upgrades to fault detection and diagnostics for faster issue resolution
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Support for new digital tools that will underpin the smart grid transition
Vodafone: Building Out the “Nation’s Network”
For Vodafone, the contract is a flagship example of how its infrastructure — dubbed The Nation’s Network — can underpin not just mobile services, but national-scale digital transformation projects.
The telecom giant is already a key player in providing IoT and private network services to sectors ranging from agriculture to logistics. With SPEN, the company steps deeper into energy — a sector where data and resilience are fast becoming inseparable.
As utilities scale up renewable integration, demand forecasting, and distributed energy management, telecom networks are evolving from auxiliary systems to the central nervous system of modern grid control.
