Bringing social value to the grid: A roundtable on transmission and distribution
August 20, 2025
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How do we add value to communities while upgrading the grid? Here’s what we have learnt from a roundtable on social value.
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How can we improve the social impact of upgrading the electrical grid? That is the question we put to a group of specialists who should know. It included a team from across our business disciplines, a professor in economic geography from the London School of Economics and, via the Institution of Civil Engineers, a transmission and distribution peer from another consultancy. The purpose of bringing these people together was clear. Upgrading the grid is a once-in-a-generation transformation project for the UK. And delivering the right outcomes hinges on collaboration—not competition.
Below, we share insights that stood out to some attendees. They reflect on how the day challenged their perspectives. They also talk about how it prompted them to question business as usual and to consider how vital transmission and distribution infrastructure can be more sensitively integrated within its surroundings.
Owning social value throughout the project: Maria Niebla De Campo, design lead, Energy
A lot of what is happening across infrastructure projects is disjointed. We need more consistent efforts to embed social value throughout delivery, not just as a procurement tick-box exercise. Getting this right could help rebuild public trust.
We know there isn't one simple definition of social value—it depends on what’s material to both the far-reaching project outcomes and the community in which the project is based. To a technical person, it might mean delivering a safe, smart, compliant design within the budget set from the public purse. To others, it could mean creating better access to green spaces or achieving biodiversity net gain. These things contribute to improved mental health and wellbeing. But real impact comes when technical expertise is aligned with strategic social value objectives. That’s when we can shift from superficial gestures to meaningful impacts.
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How can we reimagine grid infrastructure?
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We have an opportunity to rethink how social impact is considered, how clients are involved, and when communities are engaged more widely. As social value moves beyond publicly procured projects and into the private sector, we need to make sure it isn’t something buried among the thousands of documents submitted for planning applications. We need to go back to communities where earlier commitments are being delivered and find out what actual impact they have had. Metrics on the number of apprentices or hours volunteering with local charity groups, etc., can be impressive. But are they connected to local, regional, or national goals?
Transmission and distribution projects already have time and budget objectives. So, why don’t they have objectives that link impact to successful delivery? If we leave social value siloed in procurement, it will continue to be seen as just a cost. Here’s a great transmission example: employment. We know we need more engineers, construction workers, high-voltage specialists, and others to design and build all the needed infrastructure. If clients incentivise quality STEM engagement and upskilling, scaling, and employing apprentices, the supply chain can help develop workforces. And in turn generate employment opportunities for affected communities. This would be similar to the approach Sellafield took with its successful training programme.
This is a big conversation. Our recent discussion shows that speaking collectively as an industry is essential. We should keep challenging ourselves, our clients, and the regulations to embed social value by design.
Communicating outside normal channels and groups: Paul White, project technical lead
In my role, communication is the soul of what I do. But what really struck home for me at the transmission and distribution workshop was how far-reaching that communication needs to be—from explaining why a project is needed to how specific decisions are made. For example, we need to help people see grid projects as a net positive by understanding overhead line infrastructure in the context of the clean energies it enables. Yes, there may be a visual impact of the pylons in the landscape, but they also connect solar, offshore wind, etc., to the people who use it.
We need to think clearly at the start of a project about the narrative shared with the public and how the ‘bigger picture’ is sold. This story must be checked, tested, and repeated at each stage. So now I’m thinking that good communication not only facilitates the technical execution but also enhances the social value of the project. By integrating community feedback and addressing social impacts, project teams can create a legacy of positive change and community support. This will lead to smoother project implementation and greater public acceptance.
" }Our infrastructure must work for today and be ready for the future.
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The time between the planning and building stages for new transmission and distribution infrastructure can be troubling. It is a period of great uncertainty and change for local communities. What will pylons really look like in their area? Should they be concerned about selling their properties? There is evidence that after construction, people are more settled, so support and communication of progress in that intervening period is important.
Using all the tools at our disposal: Andy Chester, landscape architect
Considering my role in landscape architecture, I found the focus on humanising transmission and distribution infrastructure—and putting people at the heart of all elements of grid work—quite refreshing.
Digital tools like Route Selector already overlap my team’s work and the transmission and distribution space, helping us quickly ascertain suitable route options for infrastructure, guided by an understanding of constraints. But it was the novel use of things like Lego Serious Play that really stood out. The tactile forms promoted storytelling from all participants. It allowed both ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ thinkers the same floor space to share their perspectives. This isn’t always easy to achieve in large meetings or consultations. And because the process was genuinely enjoyable, too, it resulted in powerful human engagement.
As consultants, we have a breadth of skills and experience. These often stretch beyond the hyper-specialised areas many clients work in. Our ability to add value is clear when we actively bring a diversity of experience and expertise together. We can challenge concepts and join the dots for our clients. I can see how combining visual modelling and AI tools with an activity like physically building within constraints could be a great tool for better consultations and public understanding. Ideas on ways to share insight into some of the advanced technologies transmission uses through on-site workshops at substations or pylons could further enhance community engagement.
The transmission and distribution workshop got us all thinking. One of the suggestions that came from modelling was the potential of a single source of truth that helps avoid miscommunication, repetition, and a waste of resources. One source of truth could also help even the playing field for engagement with more diverse groups. It’s an idea that shows how transformative tools can be.
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The workshop used building blocks as a vehicle for creative expression.
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Building resilience in transmission and distribution: Adrian Johnson, technical director
Our infrastructure must work for today and be ready for the future. It should be affordable for clients and end users, but also environmentally affordable for the planet. And it should be able to adapt to future social and environmental change. We looked at questions around how we build now for long-term sustainability. We know there are lessons from the Water side of our business that cross-fertilise into Energy. These include the need to take a systems-level view in framing problems, to decarbonise transmission and distribution solutions from the start, and to design for future resilience.
We’re accredited and are using the PAS2080 carbon management framework across different sectors. In water, clients already push to reduce the carbon intensity of capital works and promote low-carbon solutions. Some now follow the Construction Leadership Council’s 5-point Carbon Plan. They are taking practical steps in key areas of fossil fuel use, concrete, and steel. This includes enacting bans on more carbon-intensive concretes and specifying the use of green steels. As major asset owners, utilities can impact markets by engaging with other asset organisations in their regions and supply chains. This helps create demand and improve the availability of new low-carbon materials.
We can also use adaptive pathways to drive decision-making under uncertainty. Also we need to build in more flexibility for better resilience. In the workshop, we listened to our active travel lead present a case study on a vehicle-to-grid community in Utrecht. Here, the system design negated the need for a substation, and we explored models on electrical vehicle demand predictions. They raised the question: Do we need all the infrastructure we think we do, at the rate we currently think we need it? By intelligently staggering new builds, we are more likely to allow time for improved materials and technologies to come to market that lower the carbon impact of projects and improve resilience.
We have already seen hugely disruptive blackouts around the world. In the UK, we saw Storm Ciarán lead to power fluctuations, a failure at a water treatment works, and disruption in the water supply. The substation fire that shut down Heathrow earlier this year is another high-profile example of the need to manage critical interdependencies between infrastructure systems. It is vital we identify the risks and opportunities at the interfaces where transmission and distribution interact with other sectors. We can then work together to strengthen system-level resilience.
Collaboration is the key for social value in transmission and distribution
The transmission and distribution system overhaul is an enormous challenge for the UK. And it won’t be an easy or universally popular process. But the combination of a national commitment to a low-carbon future and layered perspectives is a powerful one.
Nancy MacDonald was our facilitator at the workshop. Here are her thoughts: ‘We can’t expect to get universal consensus for every transmission and distribution project. But we can help communities move along the path to consent.’
Here are some key factors to success:
- Better consultations that equip everyone with clear and timely information
- Applying lessons from other sectors
- Increasing the visibility of community benefit funds
- Fundamentally sharing the story of what delivering this work means for the country
Often the technical side is the most straightforward. The challenge can be getting buy-in and understanding not just the technical value but the other components of value this infrastructure brings to our communities. And how do we share that story clearly?
The answer is in how the industry collaborates. We need to work together with all parties to build the strongest sort of consent. With such enormous transmission and distribution projects affecting so many people, we will never get complete consensus. But together, we can help communities move along the path to approval and acceptance and improve the social impact.
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