SSE : Changes to management of SSE Thermal

SSE has announced today that Catherine Raw, Managing Director of SSE Thermal, will leave SSE on 12 April 2024 in order to take up an opportunity at global mining company BHP, where she will be based in Australia.

Catherine joined SSE in early 2022 following a successful career in mining firm, Barrick Gold, where she held senior positions in North America. As Managing Director of SSE Thermal, Catherine currently oversees the strategy, performance and development of the company's flexible power generation and energy storage activities.

SSE Thermal has performed very strongly in recent years, underlining its importance to the group. The business has achieved a number of important financial and strategic milestones that set it up for future success, including:

• delivering both strong earnings and reliable plant performance as SSE Thermal's flexible fleet and storage responds to increasing demands for system security
• commissioning Keadby 2 earlier this year, adding Europe's most efficient thermal power station to SSE Thermal's market-leading portfolio
• acquiring, with Equinor, the Triton thermal assets at accretive value, enhancing SSE Thermal's fleet, consolidating SSE Thermal's position in the Humber, and advancing its hydrogen-to-power strategy
• contributing to securing Irish electricity supplies with Temporary Emergency Generation at Tarbert and sustainable biofuel investments at Tarbert and Platin
• establishing SSE's Hydrogen Centre of Excellence including initiating the company's first hydrogen investment in H2NorthEast
• advancing Keadby 3 CCS and Peterhead CCS, including securing planning permission for Keadby 3 and bringing both projects through the Track 1 and Track 2 industrial cluster processes

SSE has now commenced a recruitment process for her successor and will update in due course. After her departure, Martin Pibworth, Chief Commercial Officer will provide additional support to the business whilst her successor is recruited and onboarded.

Martin Pibworth, Chief Commercial Officer said:

"We thank Catherine for her work over the last two years where she has made a real impact, overseeing the thermal business as it continues to go from strength to strength. SSE Thermal has an extremely bright future built around hugely talented people, world-class assets and partnerships, and a growing low-carbon pipeline which can make a huge difference as the UK and Ireland decarbonises whilst maintaining secure electricity supplies. Whilst it is sad to see Catherine leave, I have every confidence that her successor will have a very strong hand to play as SSE Thermal helps provide the flexibility needed to transition to and then embed a net zero energy system".