On 2 August, Iberdrola agreed to acquire 88% of our business. In October that transaction was completed, resulting in Iberdrola having majority ownership of Electricity North West Limited.
We were delighted to receive the Investors in People (IIP) Silver accreditation, something that is awarded to just 22% of accredited businesses.
In October we experienced our first named storm of the season: Storm Ashley. Our engineers restored power to more than 20,000 properties. High winds caused branches and trees to hit overhead lines causing multiple issues on the network. We received 2,570 calls during the incident and all of our customers registered onto our PSR were contacted.
On 17 October we held our bi-annual DSO conference, at the North Lakes Hotel in Penrith with others joining us online. With a focus on flexibility and data, the well-attended event showcased how we are advancing our DSO initiatives. Stakeholders engaged in vibrant conversations and explored how ENWL’s DSO activities are directly benefiting them, as well as how we plan to continue delivering value through enhanced flexibility services and greater data transparency.
September saw children return to school. We were looking forward to visiting primary and secondary schools throughout the academic year to talk about staying safe around electricity, STEM learning and future careers. We welcomed 40 new apprentices into the business.
Our CEO, Ian Smyth took part in a panel at the Labour Party Conference. Ian highlighted the key work we do across the North West and the role of networks generally, including how we use our innovative approach to meet the needs of customers.
Our stand at Westmorland County show garnered lots of public interest – we shared our RIIO-ED2 plans and promoted our extra care register, LCT support, farmer safety, our apprentice programme and biodiversity plans, to name a few.
On 25 September we hosted a webinar to unpack Ofgem's consultation on the Regional Energy Strategic Plan (RESP) framework. Included, was a high-level overview of the consultation's key aspects, including proposed RESP building blocks, regional governance structures and boundaries and what this all means for the North West.
Our flexibility services team had a fantastic time at The Flexibility Summit North West in Salford in June. Our Distribution System Operation (DSO) Commercial Lead, Paul George, provided an overview of our current requirements and explained how North West businesses can get started on their flexibility services journey to maximise revenue and provide energy security to the grid, whilst helping them achieve their decarbonisation goals.
We were proud to headline sponsor the Northern Sustainability Summit on 8 July. Rachael Parr, our People & Corporate Services Director, and Dan Shanley our Net Zero Carbon Manager spoke at the event and our colleagues were there to meet with attendees on both our Electricity North West and Take Charge exhibition stands.
We also shared details of Electricity North West Women's Career Day – an opportunity to discover exciting career opportunities and get inspired by successful women who already work here, held at our state of the art Training Academy in Blackburn.
In May we once again reminded people to be cautious around the power network by looking out, looking up, and taking note of substations and yellow danger of death signs. We shared insights from our latest stakeholder engagement satisfaction survey which showed 79% satisfaction.
There was also updates from our Customer Voice feedback panel and the DSO and Innovation teams, including the launch of our new DSO newsletter and the Ofgem DSO survey. We were also proud to be a partner of the UK Business Climate Hub providing decarbonisation support for SMEs.
We also announced the re-launch of our ESG approach – our responsible business framework with key focuses on our people, customers, environment, communities and corporate governance and greater alignment to the UN Sustainability Goals. Plus, the launch of our spring flexibility tender and the return of the Powering or Communities fund with £100,000 available to community and local energy groups.
In April we held our Distribution System Operation Conference: Voice of the North West. The event saw 78 stakeholders in person and 23 online come together to collaborate and co-create strategies to drive innovation and sustainability in our region's energy landscape.
Our Asset Management Director Paul Killilea attended an industry roundtable on the future of electric vehicle (EV) charging. This significant meeting took place at No. 10 Downing Street and was chaired by Transport Secretary, Mark Harper. Attendees included Britain's other Distribution Network Operators as well as a number of transport, motorway service and EV charger providers.
We also shared details of our latest BS ISO accreditation, our tree planting wildlife hub in Carlisle and some important safety reminders following two incidents in the month.
In March we invited stakeholders to attend Electricity North West’s Distribution System Operation Conference: Voice of the North West This event presented a unique opportunity to come together, collaborate, and co-create strategies to drive innovation and sustainability in our region's energy landscape.
In March we held the inaugural meeting of the digital futures advisory panel to shape our delivery of our digitalisation and data strategies and commitments.
We also shared details of £300,000 of funding secured from Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) and announced a pioneering initiative to enable flexibility service providers (FSPs) to maximise routes to participate in flexibility markets and provided details of a visit that showcased our innovative technology and future investment plans to a prominent group of MPs from around the country.
In February, the stakeholder engagement team ran a number of stakeholder advisory panels, including an in person Economic Growth advisory panel. The panels are an integral part of ENWL's Stakeholder Engagement Strategy. There was an opportunity to meet the DSO stakeholder panel. It was the last chance to apply for the 2024 Partnership Fund. The £1.4m fund targets 250,000 people who could be getting free support. The Take Charge project launched its 'shape your energy future' advice service, providing information and advice on the low carbon transition.
Feedback was being sought after on ENWL's Smart Optimisation Outputs (SOO) implementation. This initiative aims to improve collaboration, transparency, and data use in the electricity sector.
February also saw ENWL submit proposals to Ofgem to fund seven new programmes to enhance network reliability when adverse weather hits some of the most remote areas across our region. The £35m submission, following the Storm Arwen recommendations was developed and supported by key stakeholders.
ENWL also announced an additional 2.4GW of network capacity, providing more opportunity for connections in the region.
The start of the new year saw our region once again battered by winds of up to 82mph when storms Isha and Jocelyn hit the region in just four days.
In January we launched the 2024/25 partnership funding programme. Grants were available for groups supporting members of our community who could benefit from Extra Care in the event of a power cut. There was also an update on the Take Charge campaign - a free impartial advice service to help customers reduce energy bills, get debt and financial support, and even secure funding for energy efficient home improvements.
There was a dedicated local authorities update. We also launched our Capture reports. The reports are a review and analysis of the 2023 regional stakeholder events and the insights discovered.