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NEWS
August/September 2012 www.esb.ie/em
Strategic choices need to be made says ESB Chief Executive
Chief Executive Pat O’Doherty addresses the Energy Ireland Conference 2012 at Croke Park.
THE THEME OF THIS year’s Energy Ireland Conference was ‘Shaping the Future of Irish Energy’ and it looked at how the building blocks are being put in place now to meet the 2020 targets that will shape the Irish energy landscape for decades to come. The conference, attended by 250 delegates across two days, was opened by the Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte TD, who updated delegates on the Government’s priorities for the energy sector.
Visiting speakers were joined on the panel by local energy sector leaders including the ESB Chief Executive, Pat O’Doherty; Dave Kirwan of Bord Gáis Energy and Brian Motherway, the recently appointed head of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, as well as respected economist and commentator Professor John FitzGerald from ESRI who gave the closing address on Thursday. In addition, both energy regulators, Garrett Blaney of the Commission for Energy Regulation and Shane Lynch of the Utility Regulator in Northern Ireland, addressed the conference. Also in attendance were representatives from the European Commission, the International Energy Agency the European Investment Bank, Imperial College London and the VaasaETT global energy think-tank.
At the event, Pat O’Doherty said, “Over the next decade, I believe that very big strategic choices will have to be made and these will be fundamental in reshaping our industry and its impact on the economy and society to beyond 2050.”
With over 35 speakers, across a busy programme of plenary and workshop sessions, the Energy Ireland conference covered the full range of energy issues and drew attendees from all sub-sectors, north and south. The conference attracted support from both the private and public sectors, with the main sponsors at this year’s conference being ESB, Bord Gáis Energy and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. The technology partner for the conference was Siemens.
Attendees at the conference represented all areas of the energy sector from energy companies to policy-makers and those working in advisory roles, with a significant number of delegates travelling from outside Ireland, some as far away as California, to participate in the conference.
PwC launches ‘Renewables Deals’ report
JOHN CAMPION TO RETIRE
OUR GOOD FRIEND and colleague John Campion has decided to retire from his post as Executive Director of Sustainability & Human Resources of ESB after 34 years of service.
John joined ESB in 1978 after graduating in civil engineering from UCD. He has held many senior posts in virtually every part of the company but particularly in the areas of industrial relations and personnel management. He also worked as a regional manager in both Sligo and Dublin. He spent four years as Power Generation’s Human Resources Manager. Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, he was Head of Networks Projects spearheading the start of a €6 billion Network Renewal Programme.
In 2002, John was appointed Executive Director of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs. In 2008, he was appointed to the new role of Sustainability Executive Director and led the highly-successful sustainability strategy throughout the organisation. It is no exaggeration to say that John has been at the heart of every major change programmes in ESB over the last two decades. The sustainability programme established and led by John is recognised both within and outside the company as truly world-class.
John has made an extraordinary contribution to ESB throughout his career. It is intended to honour his outstanding achievements with a presentation on behalf of his many ESB colleagues and friends.
A presentation will be made to John on Thursday September 13th at 5pm in the Head Office Restaurant and I hope very much that you can join us for what will be a memorable ESB celebration.
Pat O’Doherty, Chief Executive
Executive Director Appointments
THE ESB BOARD has approved two new senior appointments: Paddy Hayes as Executive Director, Generation and Wholesale Markets, and Pat Naughton as Executive Director, Group People and Sustainability.
A Chartered Engineer, who previously worked for British Steel before joining ESB in 1999, Paddy Hayes has held senior positions throughout the Company, including General Manager of Synergen and Head of Independent Generation. He is currently Manager of Asset Development and Energy Portfolio.
Pat Naughton is a Mechanical Engineer who has worked in ESB since 1978. He too has held a number of senior positions in the organisation, including Manager, Hydro Stations, Strategy and Portfolio Development Manager, and HR Manager, ESB Energy International.
Commenting on these new appointments, Chief Executive Pat O’Doherty said, “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Paddy Hayes and Pat on their appointments and to wish them the very best in their new roles.”
CHANGES TO EM
EM HAS BEEN SERVING ESB management and staff for over 60 years in one form or another – ESB Journal, Electrical Mail, Electric Mail and in later years EM. Throughout those years it has grown and evolved to its present style which now can be viewed online with a netbook version.
We have always tried to bring you, the readers, the latest up to date news in the company as well as a number of lifestyle features to make it as interesting and informative as possible.
However, like all sections of ESB and indeed all of us in our own lives, we have had to look at the issue of costs and of course sustainability. We want to continue to communicate with you but in as efficient and cost effective way as possible. Paper costs and postal charges continue to rise and are in fact a large amount of the costs involved in producing EM. We have recently had to take a root and branch look at the publication and see how we can make sizeable cost savings while still keeping you up to date on the many changes taking place within ESB – this is a time of considerable change and we are conscious that everyone wants to keep abreast of what is happening.
We have a growing number of people requesting the nxtbook version of EM that you can read online. Readers receive an email when each edition issues and can click into the latest version. This is becoming an increasingly popular way of reading newspapers and magazines. As well as being more sustainable, it is also much more cost effective – no paper, no packaging, no postal charges.
Shortly you will see a new revamped EM – slightly smaller, some fewer pages and a change in the editorial carried. This however will not mean a less interesting read.
For our retired staff we will be including a postcard in the next issue (October/November), where we will ask you to supply us with your email details and we will send you an email with a link to each new edition. At Christmas, we will continue to send out a printed copy of the Dec/January edition to all retired staff. We are aware that not all of our retired staff are pc-users so we hope the Christmas issue will keep you up to date on all that is happening.
We will also be reducing the number of printed copies delivered to work locations so do let us know if extra copies to requirements are being sent to your area.
We hope you will continue to enjoy EM and we will endeavour to keep you up to date on all the news and views.
