SSEN's multibillion-pound "electricity superhighway" programme could be in some trouble despite being considered of national importance.
The £10 billion Pathway to 2030 has provoked a tide of opposition across the Highlands due to the size and profusion of developments proposed, and has recently suffered a number of setbacks.
Communities are fighting back through two renewables conventions opposing the "democratic deficit" of the process and industrialisation of rural landscapes.
Highland Council, under pressure from UK and Scottish Government energy policy drives, is left fielding major decisions at breakneck speed, the process becoming somewhat messy in parts.
The proposals
The scale of the project is enormous but in simple terms it involves improving the grid in the north of Scotland so renewable energy can be transmitted from the Highlands, Shetland and the Western Isles to Drax, in North Yorkshire.
Three new lines are in the "project refinement" phase: Western Isles HVDC Link Project; the Spittal - Loch Buidhe - Beauly 400kV Connection; and the Beauly - Peterhead 400kV Overhead Line.
HVDC (High-Voltage Direct Current) is a method of efficiently transmitting large amounts of electricity over very long distances by converting AC to high-voltage DC and back again at converter stations.
The three new lines all ultimately connected into the 505km long subsea "electricity superhighway" Eastern Green Link 2 that runs from Peterhead to Drax and that "will carry enough electricity to power two million homes."
Planning hiccups
Under complicated planning law, the Energy Consents Unit in Edinburgh will determine if the overhead lines (OHL) get the go-ahead, while massive substation proposals are decided by Highland Council.
Despite passionate opposition, the Banniskirk substation in Caithness was approved by the council; but the local authority refused permission for the Carnaig substation in Sutherland.
The controversial Fanellan substation proposal, near Beauly, has just been deferred to allow a site visit by councillors, and the outcome is now at risk given serious concerns about traffic management.
As it stands one link in the substation "chain" has been broken (also as a result of transport planning concerns) though the Sutherland proposal is likely to be altered and resubmitted.
Nevertheless, even if it does ultimately get permission the delay will be significant.
Transport planning around the Fanellan proposal has also left council officers "flabbergasted".
Fanellan is supposed to provide the point where the far north and Western Isles lines plug into the grid and if it is rejected that could jeopardise the efficiency of whole power generation in the north of Scotland.
It also matters for every subsequent planning application, as a precedent could be set.
What SSEN said
A spokesperson for SSEN Transmission confirmed the Sutherland substation is not off the table.
"As a key element of our proposed Spittal - Loch Buidhe - Beauly 400kV overhead line, the Carnaig 400kV substation represents an important step towards securing clean, affordable power, while supporting local jobs and businesses and delivering substantial long-term benefits," they said, adding they were "committed to working constructively with stakeholders and communities" and were reviewing the implications of the planning refusal."
Is the council objective in judging planning matters?
The issue of objectivity was raised by Culloden and Ardersier councillor Trish Robertson who asked "what does this say to our communities?" when referring to SSEN signing up to the local authority's Highland Social Value Charter.
Council leader Raymond Bremner, who sits on the north planning applications committee that judged both the Banniskirk and Carnaig substation plans, signed for the local authority.
Some within the council perceive a potential conflict of interest with SSEN signing up to the charter to deliver on the council's aims while it is the council's officers who then make substantial planning recommendations.
Yet the council found itself much more worried when Cllr Matthew Reiss Thurso and Northwest Caithness) suggested a "pause in major renewables whilst the grid's inability to carry the power south was considered". He resigned from the north planning committee.
Then Cllr Helen Crawford (aird and Loch Ness), who helped organise the aforementioned renewables conventions, was essentially threatened with referral to the Standards Commission if she even entered the chamber during the Fanellan considerations.
A Highland Council spokesperson said: "The council's monitoring officer spoke with Councillor Crawford and offered advice on the matter."
Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Edward Mountain said: "Highland Council officers, by threatening and by applying pressure to Helen Crawford with referral to the Standards Commissioner - where no conflict can be shown - is, in my view, an affront to democracy."
'Is it normal for officers to take part in debate?'
Amid that background, Cllr David Fraser's (Aird and Loch Ness) proposed deferral on deciding the Fanellan application for a site visit provoked an intervention by a senior planning official.
Officials should offer objective advice but there was concern when Peter Wheelan asked councillors to consider that SSEN is "operating as a business. They need certainty about the decisions".
Cllr Andrew MacKintosh (Inverness Ness-side) asked as a point of order "...is it normal for officers to take part in debate?" to whcih chairman of the south planning committee ,Cllr Paul Oldham responded: "I'm not wildly enthusiastic about this situation myself, if I am honest, Peter. I do feel that members are aware of the implications of this. I hope they are.
"They've been paying attention and the risk that they are taking by doing this. We do have the ability to do a site visit before the 12th of January if we can solve some logistics."
Queried by us about the situation the council responded: "The issue you refer to was dealt with at the meeting as a point of order and acknowledged by the chair. We have nothing further to add."
What are communities worried about?
Cllr Crawford believes that "local democracy in Scotland needs a reset" for anything to improve, as many community councils have "lost trust in a system" which "gives their views minimal, if any, weight."
"At the same time," she said, "their locally elected councillors are often constrained by a complex code of conduct, and a quasi-judicial planning process that is difficult to navigate even for experienced representatives.
"This stands in stark contrast to the developers, who are well funded, with their own dedicated legal departments and professionally qualified community liaison teams. There is no parity of arms, and communities are being outmatched.
"The human impact of this imbalance is profound. This decline of local democracy did not happen overnight. It has been unfolding for more than a decade, as power has drained away from communities towards Holyrood.
"What we now need is a genuine reset: transparency, accountability and honesty in public life, not just in words, but in practice."