EM - October/November 2010 - (Page 16)

ESB Networks Ltd 8 Europe’s largest agribusiness event Despite the mixed weather over the three days from 21st – 23rd september, a huge crowd, believed to have topped the 182,000 mark attended this year’s National & european ploughing Championships in Athy, Co. Kildare. the organisers have dubbed the 79th championships a resounding success, despite the current economic situation, with the mood helped no doubt by the good harvest and generally better returns achieved from agriculture this summer. the annual championships have become a great social and business centre for farmers and agri-industry alike, and indeed all things associated with rural living. With 800 exhibitors there is no doubt but that this event is a comprehensive showcase of products and services representing all aspects of agricultural and many ancillary industries. As in previous years, the esB Networks’ marquee and outdoor exhibits were superb and great credit to all of the staff involved. portlaoise staff are to be thanked for the excellent polemounted displays of Network Automation, which together with electric vehicles helped to attract large crowds into the Networks marquee. staff were kept very busy inside providing infor- 16 Oct/Nov 2010 www.esb.ie/em Bright Ideas Energy Solutions pages 8 Ploughing Championships a resounding success mation to customers and dealing with safety, technical /smart metering and business issues. twice daily there were illustrated talks presented on microgeneration. the event again proved this year to be a key forum for promoting esB’s objectives. Among the thousands of spectators who visited the marquee and viewed the outdoor displays were leaders from the major farming organisations, businesses and various politicians. Already the farm of eamon and Willie Fennin in Athy is gearing up for september 2011 when the event will be held at the same site for the third year in a row. n Recent Appointments in ESB Telecoms Michelle Montayne Michelle Montayne has been appointed as a Key Account Manager in esB telecoms Ltd. Michelle brings more than nine years experience to her new role, having previously held the position of Communications Manager for iCt Group, sAp training Manager for phr and Marketing executive for esBi Computing. Michelle will be part of the sales and Marketing team responsible for increasing awareness of esB telecoms in the market place and generating business through targeted sales and marketing campaigns. she holds a Bachelor of Business studies degree from Waterford institute of technology and a Masters of science in Marketing practice from the UCD Michael smurfit Graduate school of Business. Out with the old and in with the new! left on the LV system 8 Network Projects replace one of the last statter boards Above: The team working in Kelly’s Row Sub Station are Stephan Boyle, David King, Roy Donovan, Liam Rooney, Colm Cummins and David O’Connell. Above insert: Roy Donovan - PICW Kelly’s Row Sub Station with the old controls. Liam Rooney and David King check through safety issues in Kelly’s Row. Visitors to the ESB Networks stand at the National Ploughing Championships. Mark Rohan: World champion MArK rohAN, current world champion hand cyclist, doesn’t let mighty challenges daunt him. Mark, a former under-21 footballer with Westmeath, suffered serious injuries in a road accident in 2001. As a result of his injuries Mark is now confined to a wheelchair. he took up handcycling less than two years ago having previously represented ireland in the sport of wheelchair basketball. Mark got his first hand-cycle to cross-train and keep fit. “With other wheelchair sports, you still feel like you’re in a wheelchair, but on the bike you have a real sense of freedom,” he told eM. Mark got into the more serious side of handcycling after attending a workshop with power Cycling ireland in 2008. “Now i cycle distances of 50-60 km a couple of times a week. the type of training i do depends on what time of year it is. in pre-season i cover a lot of miles and then coming closer to the race season i work more on power and speed. “esB has been really great with supports and encouragement and sports are really great for socialising and for breaking down boundaries,” Mark adds. “if you’re in a wheelchair and you’re out, there isn’t much that you can do except sit in the corner. When you handcycle, you can say to people, ‘Look, at the weekend i cycled 50 or 60km’. it opens people’s eyes to the level of ability that someone in a wheelchair has.” Mark admits there is always a pride when competing for your country and there’s something extra driving you on. this year he travelled to spain, Dubai and Canada. Mark’s dad, Denis rohan, worked at the shannonbridge power station and later became a full time trade union official. his brother David is also an electrician with esB. n Nicola Arthur Nicola Arthur was recently appointed to the senior management team in esB telecoms Ltd as Governance & Asset Manager. Nicola has been working in esB telecoms Ltd for more than nine years where she started as a site planning Consultant, preparing planning applications for telecommunications structures and dealing with some of esB telecoms’s customers. she also worked as a property Asset Consultant. in her new role, she will manage the Administration, it, planning & property teams. Nicola has a Bachelor of science degree from trinity College and a Diploma in property economics from Bolton street institute of technology n stAtter BoArDs are Low Voltage distribution fuse boards installed in the 1920’s and 30’s. the switches and amp meters on these boards are often compared to the equipment seen in the laboratory in old Frankenstein movies! the statter board in Kelly’s row in Dublin City fed 12 underground circuits which supplied several hundred customers. the esB Networks crew in Kelly’s row, part of the team reporting to George Mangan, had to install a temporary Unit sub to feed some of the customers while they removed the old statter board in sections. the crew transferred the cables one by one to a new LV panel using live jointing techniques, thus preventing the need for outages. one of the oil impregnated paper insulated cables being worked on was dated back to 1928! Along with the new LV panel Kelly’s row is get two new transformers and the hV switches are also due to be replaced. n Electric scooter displayed for South Lotts Road staff Aidan Finnegan of ESB Networks sent us in this photograph of the all new electric scooter being demonstrated to staff at South Lotts Road by Joe McCarthy of MCC Control Ltd. http://www.esb.ie/em

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of EM - October/November 2010

EM - October/November 2010
In This Issue
News
Energy Solutions
ESB Networks Ltd.
ESB Energy International
Sustainability
Health & Habitat
Life

EM - October/November 2010