Power giant SSE has outlined plans for a major new overhead line stretching from Beauly to Kintore.
And now the energy supplier is holding talks with residents from across the Highlands all the way to Aberdeenshire in an attempt to fine-tune the route.
A series of public exhibitions are being held across the north and north east, and yesterday power chiefs met with interested locals at Longmore Hall in Keith.
SSE say the 103-mile reinforced line will provide customers in rural areas with a more secure supply, and will offer additional connections for renewable energy sources.
The preferred corridor will be 1.9 miles wide and will stretch from Beauly substation in the Highlands to Blackhillock, near Keith, then on to the Kintore substation in Aberdeenshire.
Project manager Greig Taylor said: “This is our first real chance to tell people about the project, and it is then up to them to go away and consider it in advance of us selecting a route.
“This scheme will reinforce the whole network, and have benefits for countless customers.”
At yesterday’s exhibition, representatives from the firm and environmental consultants, Ramboll Environ, guided Keith residents through the plans.
Over the course of the month they will tour other affected areas and the feedback from the sessions will be documented by SSE and used to map out the corridor.
Local landowners who attended the session in Keith had mixed views on the project.
Retiree Ronald Joy said he approved of the scheme, which could end up passing over farmland his family occupies.
The 80-year-old said: “We think the lines will be going over our land, but we’re not against it.
“You will always get some people looking to create opposition but I think the plans are reasonable.”
One farmer, who owns land at Mulben, attended the consultation to ask that lines be directed away from his property.
The man, who did not wish to be named, said: “This is the early stages, so we weren’t able to find out exactly where the line will go.
“But we are against it going over our land and have suggested other possible routes.”
Under the plans, the Blackhillock substation will link a £2.1billion offshore windfarm to the national grid via the transmission line.
Developers say the 110-turbine Beatrice project, based eight miles off the coast of Caithness, could create 5,000 jobs and power more than 370,000 homes.