Training gets supercharged at Eakring

The Eakring site in Nottinghamshire has been home to workforce development for Electricity Transmission (ET) colleagues since the 1990s. 

As many colleagues are now driving electric vehicles and the number of apprentices and trainees is growing every year, additional charging infrastructure was needed at the site.

Eakring now has charging facilities for 86 vehicles, with some of those providing fast charging. To accommodate this, it was necessary to triple the amount of power coming to the site, and Eakring worked with Electricity Distribution to install a new 800 kVA supply.

Kate Grant, Director of Asset Operations, said: 

“These new charging facilities are a welcome step forward. I drive an EV, and it is a weight off my mind when I travel, knowing that there are charging facilities at my destination. We have many new recruits and existing colleagues who make use of this site to develop their skills and expertise, and this is a strong affirmation of our commitment to decarbonise our operations.”

Gavin Posnett, who led the project for the Property Projects team, added: 

“This was quite a complex project simply due to its size. There are very few facilities of this scale anywhere in the UK. With Eakring being fairly remote, we wanted to give our colleagues comfort that they can travel here and know they can charge their vehicle up before their return journey.”

Eakring is busier than ever as ET prepares to deliver the work that will see the country move to net zero. This year, ET is taking on around 100 trainees. Training days have risen from 35,000 in FY22 to 77,000 this year and are expected to peak at 125,000 in FY28.