About the organisation
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution delivers power to around four million homes and businesses across central southern England and the north of Scotland.
As an operator of critical national infrastructure, SSEN is responsible for keeping customers and communities connected, including during some of the most severe weather the UK experiences. When storms hit, the ability to communicate rapidly and accurately with the right stakeholders isn’t just good practice, it’s essential to maintaining trust, minimising disruption and meeting regulatory obligations.
The challenge
With two licensed distribution areas covering geographically distinct regions of the UK, SSEN Distribution manages an extensive and diverse stakeholder network, from MPs and council leaders to local authority officers and emergency responders.
As the frequency of weather warnings and subsequent storms increased, SSEN’s team recognised that its existing communication processes weren’t keeping pace. Engagement was difficult to target precisely at a regional level, and there was no structured system to coordinate and log communications before, during and after a severe weather event.
The team needed a way to move from reactive to proactive: to identify exactly who needed to hear from them, send timely and relevant updates at every stage of an event, and build an evidence base of how communication efforts were managed.
“We recognised that, while it was great to have an overview across the UK, we needed a system that would allow us to differentiate between our own regional boundaries. This meant we could engage more precisely with stakeholders affected by storms in specific areas.”
Lyndsey Stainton, Head of Engagement Delivery, SSEN Distribution
The requirements
SSEN needed a solution that could:
- Map stakeholders precisely by geographic region, aligned to their own licence area boundaries
- Automatically maintain up-to-date stakeholder data without manual effort
- Allow targeted distribution lists to be created and activated quickly when a weather warning is issued
- Support communications across multiple alert levels (Yellow and Red)
- Log all stakeholder interactions and responses in one central system
- Enable post-event analysis to continuously improve the approach
The action taken
To meet these requirements, SSEN leveraged the combined capabilities of Mapolitical and Tractivity, building a structured, repeatable six-step workflow for storm response.
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Identifying and mapping stakeholders: Using Mapolitical, SSEN identified over 480 high-level stakeholders in the north of Scotland and more than 2,000 in central southern England, including council leaders, MPs, local authority officers and emergency responders.
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Defining regional boundaries in Tractivity: SSEN provided Mapolitical with GIS shapefiles defining their licence areas, which were used to map subsections of each network region. Stakeholders were then segmented into these defined areas within Tractivity, ensuring precise targeting when a weather warning was issued.
“We provided Mapolitical with GIS shapefiles, which allowed us to create detailed maps of our regional boundaries. This mapping capability enabled us to pinpoint the exact stakeholders within each affected region and ensure accurate, tailored and timely communications.”
Lyndsey Stainton, Head of Engagement Delivery, SSEN Distribution
- Automated data transfer: Stakeholder data is automatically imported from Mapolitical into Tractivity overnight, keeping regional lists current without any manual maintenance.
- Creating targeted distribution lists: Using predefined area boundaries, the team created targeted mailing lists inside Tractivity that could be activated quickly when a storm warning was issued.
- Proactive communications at every alert level: Stakeholders receive relevant mailshots sent through Tractivity based on their circumstances and the severity of the weather warning - from Yellow to Red alert - ensuring timely updates and supporting preparedness before the storm even hits.
“When you create a boundary area in Mapolitical and export it, it goes into Tractivity as an area, and then you can create a distribution list in Tractivity based on that area. During a recent storm, we sent out a series of mailshots over three days, from before the event, during the event, and after. This was crucial in keeping stakeholders informed and aligned with our response efforts.”
SSEN Distribution Engagement Delivery Manager
- Logging and tracking all interactions: All stakeholder responses are captured in Tractivity using the Outlook add-in, creating a comprehensive, timestamped record of every engagement, critical for regulatory reporting and continuous improvement.
Tracking sentiment and building a storm inquiry database
Recognising the importance of learning from each event, SSEN created a dedicated Storm Inquiry Database within Tractivity. For each major weather event, a named inquiry, such as ‘Storm A01’, is created, and all related interactions, meetings and communications are logged under it.
“We created an inquiry called ‘Storm A01,’ and during the severe weather, we saved all interactions and meetings under that inquiry. It gave us a real databank of evidence for how we managed communication efforts before, during and after the storm.”
Lyndsey Stainton, Head of Engagement Delivery, SSEN Distribution
The results
The Tractivity and Mapolitical combination has given SSEN Distribution a structured, scalable and repeatable approach to stakeholder engagement during critical events. Key benefits include:
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Consolidated data: All interactions are centralised, allowing teams to review and refine their approach after each storm.
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Sentiment tracking: By categorising stakeholder responses, SSEN can identify emerging concerns and address them more effectively in real time.
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Evidence for continuous improvement: A detailed inquiry log allows SSEN to measure the effectiveness of its communication strategy and make data-led adjustments going forward.
“By day three of a storm, constituents and customers really want to know what’s going on and when they’ll be reconnected. Having a structured system means we can respond in a way that builds trust and provides clear updates.”
SSEN Distribution Engagement Delivery Manager
The approach also supports SSEN’s commitment to ongoing improvement.
Lyndsey Stainton notes:
“Continuous improvement is key. We’re already looking at how to log sentiment on emails and track improvements to make our communication even more efficient.”
This step-by-step workflow is a best-practice model for SSEN’s crisis communication strategy and a blueprint for any energy or utilities organisation that needs to engage stakeholders at scale during critical events.
