SEVENTY new jobs will be created in Wokingham in a bid to help power the country with green electricity.
National Grid ESO is looking for engineers, data analysts and digital and commercial operatives for Warwick head office and its borough-based control centre.
The company is a separate division to the main National Grid Group and has been working on zero-carbon electricity-generating schemes. In 2019, they were used more than fossil fuels for the first time and last summer there was a record period of electricity generation – 67 days – without burning coal.
It hopes to operate a zero-carbon electricity system by 2025.
It says that the new engineers, analysts and digital and commercial roles will help to balance electricity demand with supply and ensure the network runs efficiently, in addition to shaping the future of the energy market, providing analysis to accommodate new technologies and ways of working.
The roles include power system engineers, contract and account managers, data management specialists and communication roles. They also need specialists in regulation and industry codes.
Fintan Slye, Director of National Grid Electricity System Operator, said: “The time is now to start tackling climate change and we’re excited to be recruiting these roles to help Great Britain transition to a greener grid.
“I’m proud of all the work ESO colleagues are doing to deliver cleaner electricity, but there’s still a long way to go and these roles will help us move faster on the journey to net-zero.
“Transforming our electricity system to operate with 100% clean energy takes time – and the clock is ticking. We need people who are brimming with enthusiasm and bursting with ideas to help us.”
One of the team is Oliwia Milek, an energy forecasting manager, who said: “My role is to provide the control room with the accurate forecasted national demand so as a business we can calculate how much electricity is required at any one time. The more accurate we are, the fewer actions there are to address imbalance.
“One thing we have to do is keep our eyes and ears open for external events and give special forecasts. We did a special forecast for the Harry and Meghan royal wedding, and we’ll do another forecast next time there is a major sporting event.
“We try to anticipate demand by looking back at data from previous events. For example, if the FA Cup final is coming up, what did the demand look like 12 months ago for the same event?”
For more details, log on to careers.nationalgrid.com
