WHERE WE CAME FROM ELECTRICITY AND THE GREAT WAR SSE ABOUT US WHAT WE DO BEING RESPONSIBLE INVESTORS CAREERS NEWS & VIEWS LinkedIn Twitter Vimeo Where we came from Electricity and the Great War SSE.COM ABOUT US WHERE WE CAME FROM WHERE WE CAME FROM SSE was formed in 1998 following the merger of Scottish Hydro Electric and Southern Electric, but it can trace its heritage back far further. SSE played a proud role in Scotland’s hydro revolution, which began in 1943 with the Hydro Electric Development Act. This delivered electricity across the Highlands and dramatically improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Scots. But building dams and power stations across Scotland’s rugged landscape was no easy feat. For example, workers at St Fillans set a world tunnelling record in 1955, when they ground their way through 557 feet of rock in just a week. By the mid 1960's, Scotland could boast of 56 dams connected by over 600km of rock tunnel, aqueducts and pipelines. Electricity has transformed the way we all live our lives. It took over many of the domestic chores, helped Britain win the First World War and lit up the night in our towns and cities. Today SSE remains the UK’s largest generator of renewable energy, in keeping with its historic aim to provide safe and reliable energy for all. THE SSE HERITAGE COLLECTION Explore the wonder, history and creativity of our heritage collection online at sseheritage.org.uk. SSE HERITAGE GALLERY SEARCH SSE Copyright SSE © 2015 Contact Us Media Potential suppliers Privacy Policy Cookie Policy SiteMap