16 going on 66: Half-century of powering the capital celebrated
A UK Power Networks employee celebrating 50 years of helping to keep London powered, after starting as an apprentice at 16.
Michael Whelan, who turns 66 in July and is described as ‘happy-go-lucky' by his colleagues.
The Woodford Green local started his career as an apprentice in 1975 for what was then the London Electricity Board (LEB) at the Pratt Street training centre in Camden Town. Through his apprenticeship he trained at Church Hill depot in Walthamstow on the high-voltage electricity network, with construction and maintenance being the main role.
At 20 years old he completed training and moved to the Primary Maintenance department in Old Brompton Road, Chelsea.
In the mid-90s, Michael progressed into a field engineer role in Holloway at the City Road Depot, and now he is still going strong at UK Power Networks’ Canning Town depot working on Extra High Voltage maintenance.
Over the years he has worked for various iterations of the power network in London, from the LEB, to 24seven, then EDF and since 2010 he’s been employed by UK Power Networks.
Michael said: “I feel I have had a good career and met and worked with some wonderful colleagues, some sadly no longer with us.
“I had two pieces of advice early on in my apprenticeship that have stood me in good stead. All the apprentices were in a room at the Training Centre when this big bluff union man came in. He asked the management to leave the room and told us two things that we MUST do, that were relevant for the time. One, join The Union. Two, join The Pension Scheme. I did both!
“I later went on to be a Shop Steward for many years, which had its challenges, especially during the dark days of 24seven. There were some lively Union to Management exchanges then.”
Daniel Rawlings, extra high voltage manager, said: “Mick was my mentor when I joined the EHV team as an apprentice; he was very dedicated to creating a safe environment for fitters and engineers to develop their skills and knowledge.
“This hasn't changed over the years, he has played a key role in developing our newly-recruited engineers and has also volunteered to help teams that need extra support.
“During his long and successful career, Mick has completed more work than he can remember, to keep the lights on safely. He is a happy-go-lucky person that has a great social life, putting most of the younger members of our team to shame with the number of gigs, football and many other social activities he gets up to.
“It has been a pleasure working with Mick all these years, the support he has given to me, other colleagues and the industry as a whole is not to be underestimated.”
Published 15/07/2025
Michael Whelan, who turns 66 in July and is described as ‘happy-go-lucky' by his colleagues.
The Woodford Green local started his career as an apprentice in 1975 for what was then the London Electricity Board (LEB) at the Pratt Street training centre in Camden Town. Through his apprenticeship he trained at Church Hill depot in Walthamstow on the high-voltage electricity network, with construction and maintenance being the main role.
At 20 years old he completed training and moved to the Primary Maintenance department in Old Brompton Road, Chelsea.
In the mid-90s, Michael progressed into a field engineer role in Holloway at the City Road Depot, and now he is still going strong at UK Power Networks’ Canning Town depot working on Extra High Voltage maintenance.
Over the years he has worked for various iterations of the power network in London, from the LEB, to 24seven, then EDF and since 2010 he’s been employed by UK Power Networks.
Michael said: “I feel I have had a good career and met and worked with some wonderful colleagues, some sadly no longer with us.
“I had two pieces of advice early on in my apprenticeship that have stood me in good stead. All the apprentices were in a room at the Training Centre when this big bluff union man came in. He asked the management to leave the room and told us two things that we MUST do, that were relevant for the time. One, join The Union. Two, join The Pension Scheme. I did both!
“I later went on to be a Shop Steward for many years, which had its challenges, especially during the dark days of 24seven. There were some lively Union to Management exchanges then.”
Daniel Rawlings, extra high voltage manager, said: “Mick was my mentor when I joined the EHV team as an apprentice; he was very dedicated to creating a safe environment for fitters and engineers to develop their skills and knowledge.
“This hasn't changed over the years, he has played a key role in developing our newly-recruited engineers and has also volunteered to help teams that need extra support.
“During his long and successful career, Mick has completed more work than he can remember, to keep the lights on safely. He is a happy-go-lucky person that has a great social life, putting most of the younger members of our team to shame with the number of gigs, football and many other social activities he gets up to.
“It has been a pleasure working with Mick all these years, the support he has given to me, other colleagues and the industry as a whole is not to be underestimated.”
Published 15/07/2025