Campaigners fear another Beauly-Denny-style “ravaging” of the landscape after power company chiefs refused to rule out building more huge pylons in the Highlands.
They believe survey work has already been carried out for a possible link from north of Inverness to a site near Keith in Moray.
And they vowed last night they are ready to fight any proposals for an “ugly power line” straddling some of Scotland’s most beautiful scenery.
They claim it would be a repeat of the 137-mile pylons project connecting Beauly to Denny near Stirling which outraged locals and conservationists.
It features 600 pylons ranging from 137ft to 21rft tall.
The Save Strathdearn group was originally formed to fight the march of wind turbine projects across the north.
Its members believe a possible route for a pylons line from Beauly to Blackhillock near Keith could be via a planned new substation near Tomatin, through Strathdearn adjacent to the River Findhorn and across Dava Moor and Moray farmland.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SHE-T) insisted yesterday that such a line was not necessary at present – but it could not be ruled out in the future.
Pat Wells, co-ordinator of the Save Strathdearn campaign, said: “The very last thing we want is a huge ugly power line like the Beauly-Denny line now ravaging the Drumochter hills and Perthshire.
“Strathdearn residents and people across the world with connections to the area are already fighting to prevent the construction of a large electricity substation at Garbole, in the heart of the River Findhorn valley.”
She added: “Many people say how awful the Beauly-Denny line looks as it marches relentlessly across wild, open countryside.
“It will never be forgotten that the views of thousands of objectors to the Beauly-Denny line were ignored by the Scottish Government.”
Mrs Wells suggested that surveying had already taken place for a new pylon line – but SHE-T said that the work had been for a planned extension between Beauly and the proposed substation at Garbole.
Save Strathdearn has campaigned against windfarm developments in the area south of Inverness and also protested against plans by Scottish and Southern Energy subsidiary company SHE-T to build the substation at Garbole as part of the power line upgrades.
The spokeswoman for the company said: “There are currently no plans for a line between Beauly and Blackhillock. At the moment there is no need for something like that.
“As a company we own the network in the north of Scotland and we are obliged under the terms of our licence to make connections to the National Grid if they are needed.
“There are a lot of possible scenarios which are looked at for anything up to 40 years and based on the outlook there probably will have to be further upgrades.
“This is constantly changing and there are several factors which have to be taken into account.”
She added: “There is a completely blank canvas about what the upgrades could include – we do not have a route or the height of pylons or anything like that.
“If we do decide to carry out an upgrade then we will fully consult with communities.”
The Blackhillock substation is in line for a multimillion-pound upgrade to connect an undersea cable between Moray and a further plant at Spittal in Caithness.
The 100-mile link will be capable of transmitting about 1,200MW of electricity and has been designed to support growth in the renewable energy market in the north and north-east.