Woldingham man’s dedicated service to the electricity industry is recognised
A power worker from Woldingham has had his long service with the electricity industry recognised by his employer, UK Power Networks.
The company which keeps electricity flowing to 8.3 million homes and businesses across the South East, London and East of England invites employees who have given 40 years of continuous service to join a special 40-plus club.
Peter Hoodless, 56, a lead field engineer from Woldingham, has won awards in his career and was shortlisted this year by his employer for a lifetime achievement award for his services to the electricity industry.
He joined the industry at 16 and after a four-year apprenticeship to become a cable jointer, he quickly progressed to become a highly-skilled senior engineer, operating the electricity network up to 132,000-volts and mentoring the next generation of engineers. He completed an Open University degree, as well as qualifications in electrical engineering, management and finance.
Peter explained: “Forty years is a big milestone and I have had a very happy career. I have never got up in the morning and not wanted to go to work. How many people are that lucky in their job?”
Peter specialises in capital programme investments to build substations and install new equipment, while still working on standby, involving night-time wake-up calls to restore electricity supplies.
He explained: “I feel a sense of duty in this role, in the way that teachers and nurses do. I came into this industry to keep the lights on. It’s something I have always done and I’m carrying on. I also feel a responsibility to help younger people on standby shifts who I’m on duty with. You have to think quickly on standby and need experience and confidence to make decisions.
“The best part of the job is the people and the sense of belonging to an industry that is worthwhile. It’s a huge responsibility to keep power flowing, not just to domestic customers but hospitals and care homes, especially during Covid-19. I was very conscious of keeping the network secure.”
The highlight of his career was working with a developer on a unique project in Kingston, never done before, to retrospectively build over a live electricity grid. The project presented many technical challenges and the advantage to the area was the site being enclosed inside a building, permanently transforming the appearance of a riverside area for the local community.
Another remarkable period of his career was working in the aftermath of the great storm of 1987. He recalls: “When I woke up the copse of trees at the end of the garden had gone and I had to drive on the footpath to get round trees to get down the road. A huge amount of trees came down that night and root balls uprooted underground cables. We worked long days, every day and there was great team spirit. One of my colleagues was invited in for Sunday lunch by one of our customers. Everyone appreciated what we were doing to restore supplies.”
Reflecting on the future of the industry for newcomers he added: “The electricity industry is an exciting place to be with Electric Vehicles and with technology needed to move capacity around automatically there will be a need for all sorts of skills in the future. You can have a long career, stability and a lot of education. I was in further education from when I left school into my 40s!”
Peter’s manager, Simon Collingwood, area operations manager, said: “Peter is a 24/7 superman in our department who is very well respected by all his team members. We love him! He is a very special underestimated individual and what he doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing. I can’t fault him.”
Basil Scarsella, chief executive of UK Power Networks, said: “We take this opportunity to recognise the commitment and dedication of our longest-serving employees, who have served their local communities for decades. The last 18 months have been an unprecedented time and I am grateful to all of our staff for their key role in keeping power flowing and enabling people to go about their daily lives, while preparing the networks for an exciting low carbon future.”
The company has 464 employees with over 40 years’ service. A total of 43 staff across the South East, London and East of England reached their 40th or 50th milestone this year.
In addition to career development for existing staff, UK Power Networks continues to run apprenticeships, including 21 new apprentices who joined the business in September.
1981 factfile:
• Lady Diana Spencer married the Prince of Wales
• London Marathon was first held
• NASA launched Columbia, the very first Space Shuttle mission
• A pint of beer cost about 51p
• Raiders of the Lost Ark became the highest grossing film of the year
• Pope John Paul II survived a gunshot assassination attempt
• Ronald Reagan became US President
• Greenham Common protests
• Muhammad Ali retires with career record of 55 wins and five defeats
The company which keeps electricity flowing to 8.3 million homes and businesses across the South East, London and East of England invites employees who have given 40 years of continuous service to join a special 40-plus club.
Peter Hoodless, 56, a lead field engineer from Woldingham, has won awards in his career and was shortlisted this year by his employer for a lifetime achievement award for his services to the electricity industry.
He joined the industry at 16 and after a four-year apprenticeship to become a cable jointer, he quickly progressed to become a highly-skilled senior engineer, operating the electricity network up to 132,000-volts and mentoring the next generation of engineers. He completed an Open University degree, as well as qualifications in electrical engineering, management and finance.
Peter explained: “Forty years is a big milestone and I have had a very happy career. I have never got up in the morning and not wanted to go to work. How many people are that lucky in their job?”
Peter specialises in capital programme investments to build substations and install new equipment, while still working on standby, involving night-time wake-up calls to restore electricity supplies.
He explained: “I feel a sense of duty in this role, in the way that teachers and nurses do. I came into this industry to keep the lights on. It’s something I have always done and I’m carrying on. I also feel a responsibility to help younger people on standby shifts who I’m on duty with. You have to think quickly on standby and need experience and confidence to make decisions.
“The best part of the job is the people and the sense of belonging to an industry that is worthwhile. It’s a huge responsibility to keep power flowing, not just to domestic customers but hospitals and care homes, especially during Covid-19. I was very conscious of keeping the network secure.”
The highlight of his career was working with a developer on a unique project in Kingston, never done before, to retrospectively build over a live electricity grid. The project presented many technical challenges and the advantage to the area was the site being enclosed inside a building, permanently transforming the appearance of a riverside area for the local community.
Another remarkable period of his career was working in the aftermath of the great storm of 1987. He recalls: “When I woke up the copse of trees at the end of the garden had gone and I had to drive on the footpath to get round trees to get down the road. A huge amount of trees came down that night and root balls uprooted underground cables. We worked long days, every day and there was great team spirit. One of my colleagues was invited in for Sunday lunch by one of our customers. Everyone appreciated what we were doing to restore supplies.”
Reflecting on the future of the industry for newcomers he added: “The electricity industry is an exciting place to be with Electric Vehicles and with technology needed to move capacity around automatically there will be a need for all sorts of skills in the future. You can have a long career, stability and a lot of education. I was in further education from when I left school into my 40s!”
Peter’s manager, Simon Collingwood, area operations manager, said: “Peter is a 24/7 superman in our department who is very well respected by all his team members. We love him! He is a very special underestimated individual and what he doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing. I can’t fault him.”
Basil Scarsella, chief executive of UK Power Networks, said: “We take this opportunity to recognise the commitment and dedication of our longest-serving employees, who have served their local communities for decades. The last 18 months have been an unprecedented time and I am grateful to all of our staff for their key role in keeping power flowing and enabling people to go about their daily lives, while preparing the networks for an exciting low carbon future.”
The company has 464 employees with over 40 years’ service. A total of 43 staff across the South East, London and East of England reached their 40th or 50th milestone this year.
In addition to career development for existing staff, UK Power Networks continues to run apprenticeships, including 21 new apprentices who joined the business in September.
1981 factfile:
• Lady Diana Spencer married the Prince of Wales
• London Marathon was first held
• NASA launched Columbia, the very first Space Shuttle mission
• A pint of beer cost about 51p
• Raiders of the Lost Ark became the highest grossing film of the year
• Pope John Paul II survived a gunshot assassination attempt
• Ronald Reagan became US President
• Greenham Common protests
• Muhammad Ali retires with career record of 55 wins and five defeats
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