UK Power Networks

The overview

UK Power Networks runs electricity networks in London and the east and south east of England and serves about 8m customers. It’s ultimately owned by a Hong Kong consortium but employs around 5,500 people around the UK, including in Bury St Edmunds, Crawley, Ipswich and London.

Generation, distribution and supply

As one of the UK’s 14 distribution network organisations (DNOs), UK Power Networks doesn’t actually generate electricity or sell it – instead it runs and maintains electricity networks. Its DNO business maintains 170,000km of underground cables and overhead lines and 130,000 electricity substations.

UK Power Networks also runs independent network operator (IDNO) projects. These are not confined to specific areas and tend to focus on extending existing networks. For example, the IDNO subsidiary of UK Power Networks is currently working on the network for the Stratford City development, a huge area of housing, shops (including a Westfield shopping centre), hotels and offices being built in east London.

Rankings and awards

• 2010 National Joint Utilities Group partnership award for work on Borough High Street
• Shortlisted for the 2011 Utility Industry Achievement Awards Project Capital Management award and Utility of the Year award
• The company was one of four electricity distribution networks to be awarded money from Ofgem’s new Low Carbon Networks Fund in 2011. The funding will be used to set up the Low Carbon London Learning Laboratory at Imperial College London and to install smart meters in Low Carbon Zones around London.

Salary and benefits

The salary package at UK Power Networks is the same across the graduate schemes: graduates in both engineering and business receive £26,500 per year.

Staff perks

Graduates can expect to receive the following benefits in addition to their salary:

• 23 days annual leave (minimum)
• discretionary bonus
• cycle-to-work/bike purchase scheme
• pension scheme
• company health plan.

Culture and values

According to UK Power Networks’ recruitment advisor Audrey Bevan, there are six values that govern the company’s operations:

1. Continuous development
2. Diversity and inclusivity
3. Integrity
4. Respect
5. Responsibility
6. Unity.

‘Our values are very much the DNA of the business,’ Bevan reports. ‘It’s not just a list of things we want to do, it’s integrated into everything, from performance management to recruitment activities.’ Graduates should therefore aim to demonstrate these values throughout the selection process.

Working with consumers

Generally, until recently, network distributors would be pretty much unknown to consumers, who would only be likely to deal with them directly when something went wrong (for example, during a powercut). However, new guidelines from the energy regulator Ofgem mean that DNOs must now collaborate with consumers, particularly when planning for the future. As a result, UK Power Networks is trying to work more with consumers; for example, it ran a consultation with customers in 2011 to decide on future business plans.

Working environment

Graduates can expect to work normal office hours of 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. As with any project-based role, they might need to put some additional hours in here and there when deadlines loom and workloads increase; however, this is not the norm.

Reports are that the general atmosphere within the company is fairly relaxed and inclusive, and people of all levels are more than willing to help each other out as needed. Graduates needn’t fear being viewed as the lowest rung on the ladder. Audrey says: ‘The title ‘graduate’ is almost a status symbol; they’re viewed as the best people in the business. Managers will fight to have a graduate or former graduate on their team – they’re very popular!’ The chief executive is also frequently involved in projects alongside graduates, so there is plenty of interaction with senior managers.

Networking – and social networking

While the company as a whole doesn’t organise a large number of social events, the graduate community is very ‘close-knit’ according to Audrey, due in part to the fact that the yearly intake is relatively small. Graduates often organise after-work drinks and socials, and they’ve set up their own private Facebook group to keep in touch and provide informal support to new graduates.