OREANDA-NEWS. Bobby Bennett joined SSE 18 years ago and works in The Highlands as a Hydro Plant Attendant or ‘waterman’ whose job is to ensure water runs off the hills into our assets.

It’s hard to say what an average day looks like because it varies depending on what needs to be done. But essentially my role is to make sure that water can run off the sides of the hills, through our waterways and into the dams that we use to power our hydro stations.

Water is a precious asset and the more we collect through our network of aqueducts and drains, the more can be used to generate electricity for SSE. It gives me a great deal of pride that we play a direct role in ensuring that SSE gets the most from its assets.

The screens need to be checked and cleared regularly too, anything from branches, bracken, grass even the odd deer can get stuck. Part of my job can be getting involved in tunnel inspections to ensure they are in good condition.

I’m based up near Loch Awe and work in a beautiful part of the Highlands. I’m outdoors every day and spend a lot of time digging ditches on the sides of hills. This means we collect the maximum amount of water after rain. I cover a lot of ground, but SSE is great at looking after its staff and provides us with adequate PPE as and when required.

I also work on my own quite a lot so I have a satellite spot meter that I can use to call for help should I ever need it. I once got stuck and within 40 minutes the cavalry, well my colleague DJ, had arrived. There has been a culture shift in that ‘watermen’ were once often left on their own for days on end but not now. We’re always checking in with one another and you always know where your team mates are working; no-one gets left alone for too long. We never take risks and if the weather is too rough you just work elsewhere where it is safer.

Before I joined SSE I worked as a gamekeeper and than as a butcher at a large supermarket which after a year I found a bit soul destroying. When my wife and I moved to Oban the job at SSE came up and I’ve never looked back since. I can genuinely say I love my job. There’s plenty of folk who pay to come and explore this part of the world. I’m lucky: it’s my office.

Working with the community in such a remote part of Scotland is a key element of what I do. Because we’ve got an SSE van and the high-vis gear people come up to us whether it’s local residents, the farmer, The Forestry Commission, walkers or fishermen and want to know what’s going on. We have a really good relationship with everyone; long may that continue.

Of course not everyone thinks controlling the water to generate electricity is a good thing but we as a company try and ensure that while there is heavy rain that all floods are controlled.  It’s a big responsibility as flooding can be dangerous and affect people’s livelihoods. We also ensure the rivers flow smoothly and we monitor the fish going through our dams.

All of us are ‘on call’ should an emergency present itself at night or over the weekend. We’ve had situations when some of the power stations lost power, and then it’s all hands on deck. Everyone is up for that. I once spent 18 hours at Loch Nant when we were in a flood situation and had to keep the Ren Ops control room in Perth informed at all times of any changes.

I think working in a remote location places great importance on teamwork. When you’ve been doing this job for a while you develop a nose for potential trouble and you have to pass that on to the next generation.  We all get along and have good banter – you get to know people pretty well when you’re carrying out hard manual work like digging metres of ditches on the side of a hill. I wouldn’t want it any other way.