Prospect reps request meeting with Energy Minister to discuss network resiliency

Andrew Pakes MP has written to the Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP requesting a meeting together with a group of Prospect energy reps where they can discuss urgent issues of resiliency in the UK’s electricity network.

The request follows a meeting in Parliament between Andrew Pakes and the Prospect reps in July about network resiliency, which has become especially pressing and topical following the fire at the North Hyde substation that closed Heathrow Airport.

Prospect reps make the case for energy resilience at Parliamentary meeting

In his letter to the Minister, Andrew Pakes MP writes about his meeting with the reps, saying they ‘painted an extremely concerning picture of the state of network and the resilience of the workforce.’

He continued:

“As they explained, the physical network infrastructure is in an extremely poor state, with basic maintenance work having been consistently deprioritised. Faults and outages are becoming increasingly common, making it increasingly difficult to operate the network. Each representative highlighted how supply chain challenges were constantly holding back work programmes, noting the irrationality of the current system whereby individual network companies order individual parts for individual projects.

“Vital work has also been inhibited by a major lack of workforce investment. Over recent years the network companies should have been hiring and training thousands of workers in preparation for the major network reinforcement that is required as we decarbonise the power supply and the wider economy.

“However, as the workforce representatives highlighted, headcounts have instead been held down while demands on the workforce have increased, leaving workforce resilience dangerously low. The problem is getting worse each year, as a result of the age profile of the workforce. Large numbers of skilled workers are retiring each year, without adequate numbers coming up through the ranks to replace them.”

The letter warns that the government would find it difficult to achieve the government’s ambitious energy objectives without the concerns of the reps, and the wider workforce, being addressed.