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6 | 20TH - 26TH NOVEMBER 2015 | UTILITY WEEK People & Opinion Why we let the cameras in It is my hope that three 'fly on the wall' documentaries about SSE will stimulate constructive debate. Chief executive's view Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE S ome 18 months ago we were approached by the BBC to see if we would be interested in being the subject of a documentary about the energy industry. Energy companies are rarely out of the headlines – and usu- ally for negative reasons. Yet I'm all too aware that people in SSE do amazing things every day to keep the lights on and ensure that our customers are as satis- fied as we can make them. This is the side of SSE people rarely get to see; and is why we took the decision to let the cameras in. At the start of the project, one of the documentary makers told me he pretty much had no idea how power gets to his home. He said: "I just flick a switch and everything works. I know it's a lot more complicated behind the scenes but I've got no idea how it all happens, and I think the public would be very interested in it too." I agreed with him. Energy companies don't win many pop- ularity contests, but we do play a crucial role building critical infrastructure and ensuring cus- tomers are happy. We provide an essential service to people so we have a duty to be open and help people understand us better. These films are a part of that commitment to be transparent, but above all they tell the SSE story through the company's employees; quite simply the best ambassadors we could possibly have. The series of documentaries is called Power to the People. It was filmed over 12 months and takes viewers to a number of power sta- tions, windfarms, call centres and control centres that they would never usually get to see. The first film looks at Ferrybridge C coal- fired power station and Greater Gabbard offshore windfarm. It gives an idea of the challenges we face producing electricity in an ever-changing world. The second film explores the completion of the Beauly-Denny project, including the construc- tion of the last tower and the relief felt by the team on a job well done. It also takes the view- ers inside our renewable opera- tions – including maintaining our turbines, responding to National Grid's calls for power and even tagging the salmon that pass through our hydro stations. In the final film, the docu- mentary makers wanted to con- centrate on the work we do for our customers, both our retail customers who take their sup- ply from SSE and our customers within SSE's power distribution areas. What you will see is an obser- vational, 'fly on the wall' docu- mentary. What you won't see is perfection. And I'm okay with that. The films hold a mirror up to us all and I hope they will stimulate plenty of constructive debate. Everyone involved in energy knows they work in a complex and difficult environment, so we have a duty to help the pub- lic understand us better. I hope everyone in the industry will look out for the films – I'll be taking a keen interest in your reaction. The three Power to the People films will be shown on Tuesday night at 9pm on BBC4. The first was 'Keeping the lights on' (17 November) The next two will be: • 'It's not easy being green': 24 November; • 'The customer is always right': 1 December. 25% the amount of a company's market value that is directly attributable to its reputation, according to the World Economic Forum 504,074 The number of men across the globe who have signed the UN's HeForShe petition calling for gender equality "Providing a proactive and simple new experience to utility customers will make them immediately happier, so likely more open to behavioural change" Paul Dolan, London School of Economics "The benefits of greater energy efficiency are too huge to be ignored" Energy minister Lord Bourne