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Over 300 UK Power Networks (UKPN) employees laced up their boots for the 20-mile Royal Ramble charity walk, raising an astounding £40,000 for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Starting at Richmond Park in distant west London and finishing at Potters Fields Park by Tower Bridge, the event saw teams of up to seven tackle the challenge. Many participants joined as part of UKPN’s “donate-a-day” scheme, which allows employees to volunteer for charity twice a year. The fastest groups completed the route in under eight hours, with refreshments provided along the way. The funds raised will help the Duke of Edinburgh Award to support young people in developing vital life skills.

UK Power Networks (UKPN) has stepped up to aid vulnerable individuals dependent on electricity for medical devices. With 120,000 people on the UKPN priority register who rely on power for life-saving medical equipment, Power Protect has introduced battery packs, ensuring that critical equipment operates during prolonged outages.

In this essential initiative, these free battery packs can last more than 17 hours and are offered to affected customers during outages exceeding four hours. This extra support is part of UKPN’s continued commitment to enhancing customer well-being and its dedication to ensuring safety during longer power interruptions.  

UK Power Networks Services, the private networks business of UK Power Networks, has acquired UU Solar, a major provider of renewable energy, including solar and much more, for an enterprise value of £90.8 million. UU Solar owns and operates 65 solar photovoltaic farms, four onshore wind facilities and one hydro generation asset, with a total installed capacity of 68.7MW. The company has long-term agreements and profitable status, enabling it to expand its renewable energy generation in the future.

While much of the energy generated today goes to United Utilities Water Limited, a regulated UK water and sewerage company, UK Power Networks Services can leverage their UK-wide water, electricity and other critical infrastructure asset portfolios to create synergy between UU Solar and their other businesses.

UK Power Networks (UKPN) has secured funding for 12 pioneering projects as part of its initiatives to propel innovation in electricity and net-zero efforts. Now in their discovery phase under Ofgem and Innovate UK’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), these initiatives have the objective of fast-tracking net-zero plans, fortifying network resilience and lowering costs.

Partnering with over 20 leading innovators, the projects include endeavours such as electric-powered boats and heat capture from waste. UKPN is enthusiastic about the projects’ potential to revolutionise its operations and communities.

So far, UKPN has managed to seamlessly integrate 58 projects into its workflow. This has resulted in £425 million in customer savings, which is a testament to the company’s mission to deliver tangible benefits through strategic collaboration.  

UK Power Networks (UKPN) has trialled a cutting-edge traffic management planning solution, 1Streetworks, which has the ability to reduce connection times and improve safety.

Tested in Surrey, the trial drastically cut surveyors’ design time from hours to minutes for 300 sites, while continuing to meet the high levels of safety and accuracy required under the regulations. This success has led to an expanded trial in Kent, testing whether it can be used to benefit customers served by other workstreams across UKPN.

UK Power Networks is taking real steps to help its customers with their cost-of-living struggles. It provides funding and programmes that help energy-vulnerable populations deal with increased costs and isolation.

The Cost of Living Fund now stands at £500,000 and is distributed to organisations so that they can conduct more home visits and provide income to those desperately in need. With cold snaps threatening people, the support has empowered the creation of 120 “warm hubs” that have reached over 18,400 people; over 3,000 have received substantial support.  

If you don’t have a Supply Chain Day, perhaps you should consider organising one. UK Power Networks (UKPN) does, and it tells suppliers how important they are and how they can help.

On Supply Chain Day, 135 suppliers, representing 80% of suppliers, committed to honouring UKPN’s new green Code of Conduct. More are signing on. UKPN also provides support for micro- and small-business suppliers that may lack the resources of larger firms.

The Code addresses actions that include committing to the circular economy, reducing carbon emissions, improving social mobility and upholding high ethical standards, among other requirements.  

Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) is commonly used as an insulator to protect against shock for high-voltage electrical systems – and has over 22,800 times the global warming potential (GWP) of carbon dioxide. UK Power Networks is installing its first SF6-free Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS), which uses a combination of dehumidified oxygen and nitrogen that have a zero GWP. The company aims to reduce the use of SF6 for new switchgear across all voltage ranges where alternatives are available on the market. This will deliver operational efficiency, as SF6 management, training, reporting and disposal is costly and onerous, whereas the GIS is a safer, simpler platform.  

CKHH companies are enacting adaptive strategies to mitigate climate change, including leading the charge in the hydrogen revolution. Day 2 of the Global Climate Action Conference explored how CKHH companies deal with climate-change extreme events and how they are transitioning to climate-friendly energy generation.  

CKHH companies aren’t just spending money on traditional renewable energy – they are investing in original R&D to bring innovative solutions to bear. Pilot projects advance to become invaluable solutions to mass adoption of green technologies that just might save us all.  

UK Power Networks (UKPN) is working with retired personnel and those who may retire in the future to transition into careers in the energy sector. Education and networking with contractors form part of the services that help UKPN to fulfil its commitment made as a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant of 2015. Veterans, reservists and their family members got to hear from energy sector workers, including those who had entered the sector after their military service, at a special event held at the Imperial War Museum in London. This scheme provides a rich platform for veterans’ next careers whilst recognising the wealth of transferable skills and experience gained by those who have served in the military.

UK Power Networks is investing over £100 million of infrastructure in London and the East and South East of England. Over 100 projects will see upgrades of substations, transformers and circuit breakers to support more than 8.4 million homes and businesses. Of the total investment amount, £66 million will be dedicated to Green Recovery scheme projects that will fast-track low carbon at 86 sites, advancing the nation to hit targets set out in the government’s Ten Point Plan towards Net Zero by 2050.

The move to electric vehicles (EVs) is being shifted into high gear by UK Power Networks. Their new innovation project, Optimise Prime, includes the development of a “site planning tool” that is making the conversion of entire fleets of vehicles to EVs quicker, easier and cheaper for fleet managers. The complexity of making the shift is a challenge as managers determine when, where and how vehicles can recharge. Royal Mail, Centrica and Uber now have over 6,000 EVs in the programme.  

UK Power Networks keeps the lights on day and night in the heart of Leicester Square, London, the entertainment district of the metropolis. While the crowds buzz on the streets above, a freshly upgraded electricity substation will soon hum beneath them, safely transforming electricity to the lower voltages used by residents, businesses and impresarios alike. “Cleaner and greener” gets top billing as the new network elements improve efficiency and reliability.  

UK Power Networks’ new Green Recovery programme is funding a range of “shovel-ready” projects to supercharge the UK’s march towards its Carbon Zero future. Over £66 million has been committed to supplying heat pumps for local authorities and communities. Eighty-six applications were approved for projects, including district heating for schools and communities, which will provide more efficient use of energy and reduce carbon footprints. The use of electric vehicles has also been promoted with software upgrades that enable a single substation to support up to 500 charging stations without the need for additional investment in hardware such as heavy cabling or new substations.

UK Power Networks will commit almost £1 million to upgrading the electricity grid to allow for renewable energy to be connected to the power grid for households in Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Wind and solar farms will be able to feed energy into the power system, reducing reliance on non-renewable sources. The ‘load blinding relays’ are like safety valves that help to monitor electricity.

UK citizens aiming to support the country to hit net zero carbon emissions are benefiting from extra funding to help the United Kingdom get there by 2050. UK Power Networks is carrying out 86 low-carbon energy projects worth £66 million that will help transition the economy to one that has a lower environmental footprint. ‘Shovel-ready’ plans were targeted for immediate impact, including installing rapid electric vehicle charging stations in local communities, energy generators looking to connect more renewable energy to the electricity network, and community energy projects.

Installing homes for migratory swifts might not be the first thing you think of a power company doing, but UK Power Networks partnered with North East Herts Swifts Group to do just that. The birds’ population has been declining for years and the power company is helping by installing potential homes, including tempting bird song audio, on the village hall in Albury, southwest of London. Swifts nest as colonies and return to the same home every year after their long migration to Africa, so once established in Albury, they could return annually.

With brighter days – and even brighter nights – ahead, UK Power Networks is upgrading London’s nightlife. A £16.2 million upgrade discreetly installed under the legendary Leicester Square Gardens will see three major transformers replaced with cleaner and greener successors over a two-year period. The site will also be visited by school leavers and out-of-work young people being helped by a local programme to develop career-starting skills for a brighter future.

UK Power Networks is making the most of middle management by launching a new Leadership Academy that will reach up to 600 line managers. The UK’s Apprenticeship Levy scheme is being reinvested in delivering courses leading to Chartered Management Institute qualifications in a programme tailored to the company’s specific needs. External experts will enliven the programme and it will finish with a full graduation ceremony for those ready to flex their new management skills!

Two UK-based gas and power companies have been recognised for their ambitious work, receiving prestigious awards for their latest endeavours. Northern Gas Networks’ H21 hydrogen project was awarded the 2020 Pipeline Industries Guild Award for the best onshore pipeline concept. And UK Power Networks was named ‘Network of the Year’, taking the top prize at the annual Network Awards.  

Northern Gas Networks received a £770,000 grant to link the Bradford Alternative Fuel Centre to the gas network which will, in turn, power the development of a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling station. This funding from Ofgem will help the UK on its way towards reaching its decarbonisation goals, building on the green advantages of CNG as a fuel alternative.