Entering the Network Awards is a straight forward process that need not take up hours of your time. We’re looking for short punchy entries that match the category criteria, with the key information and data clearly showcased. Tell the judges what they need to know and tell them loudly!
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There is increasingly broad recognition that the UK’s net-zero transition will require a wide variety of decarbonisation solutions for different regions and localities across the UK.
This award recognises projects which have achieved breakthroughs in local energy, delivering benefits for the environment as well as the community/ies and individuals involved.
The judges will be looking for:
- Clear information about the scope and objectives of the project
- Evidence of strong collaboration between project partners and an exceptional approach to engaging local stakeholders
- Details of any key technical, market or regulatory challenges for local energy which the project sought to overcome
- Evidence of the benefits generated by the project for the partners involved, the local community/ies, individuals and the environment
- Evidence that project outputs are being used to support the wider development of local energy in the UK
Delivering total decarbonisation of the UK economy by 2050, at least possible cost to consumers, will require the coordination and integration of many energy vectors including power, heat, transport, and others.
This award recognises projects which have delivered breakthroughs in cross-vector innovation and advanced wider understanding of how to deliver affordable whole-system decarbonisation in the UK.
The judges will be looking for:
- Clear information about the scope and objectives of the project
- Evidence of strong collaboration between project partners
- Evidence of cross-vector decarbonisation benefits generated via the project
- Evidence that project outputs are being used to advance wider understanding of whole-system decarbonisation pathways for the UK
The need to create a greener, smarter and more efficient energy system is placing pressure on energy networks to radically change and improve the way they capture, share and apply data to tackle key strategic challenges.
This award will recognise projects which demonstrate ambition in the use of data to transform asset management, operations, efficiency levels, service quality or environmental impact.
The judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of innovation and ambition in approaches to capturing, sharing and/or applying existing or new data sets to tackle key strategic challenges
- Quantifiable evidence of business benefits generated in the past 12 months for the business and its customers and/or other stakeholders
- Evidence that the project has or could deliver wider benefits to the industry and its stakeholders
Rapid changes in the operational expectations and demands on the power system, as well as growing expectations around customer service, are increasingly driving the need for engineering ingenuity.
This award recognises engineering projects that demonstrate the application of exceptional technical skill, creative problem solving and teamwork to create significant benefits for the organisations, customers and/or other stakeholders.
The judges will be looking for:
- Evidence that the project required represented an exceptional engineering challenge
- Evidence of creative problem solving, exceptional technical skill and teamwork in delivery of the project
- Evidence that the project created quantifiable benefit to the business and its customers, and/or other stakeholders
- Evidence of ambition, and of impact or learnings for the wider engineering community
Rapid changes in the operational expectations and demands on the gas system, as well as growing expectations around customer service, are increasingly driving the need for engineering ingenuity.
This award recognises engineering projects that demonstrate the application of exceptional technical skill, creative problem solving and teamwork to create significant benefits for the organisations, customers and/or other stakeholders.
The judges will be looking for:
- Evidence that the project represented an exceptional engineering challenge
- Evidence of creative problem solving, exceptional technical skill and teamwork in delivery of the project
- Evidence that the project created quantifiable benefit to the business and its customers, and/or other stakeholders
- Evidence of ambition, and of impact or learnings for the wider engineering community
The health, safety and wellbeing of staff and the public is the primary concern of any organisation operating on the energy networks industry.
This award will recognise entrants who can demonstrate that their nominated project or initiative is innovative, will lead to sustainable benefits and is part of a wider culture of excellence in promoting health, safety and wellbeing in their organisation.
The judges will be looking for:
- An initiative that significantly improved the health, safety and wellbeing of either staff or the general public, or both, with measurable results in the past 12 months
- Evidence that this initiative is supported by a strong health and safety culture within the business
- Evidence that the initiative will have ongoing health and safety benefits for the business’s workforce, partners and/or customers
Effective and productive partnerships between network operators and their technology suppliers, contractors and service providers underpin continuous improvement in operational efficiency and service quality in the sector.
This award will recognise an alliance, or other form of collaborative partnership, that has delivered outstanding performance benefits in the past 12 months.
The judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of integrated working and aligned objectives between partners
- Partnerships that have delivered quantifiable improvements in operational efficiency and/or service quality in the past 12 months
- Evidence that the partnership is sustainable and that it will continue to generate benefits for all involved
Excellence in stakeholder engagement is increasingly important for energy networks as system decarbonisation leads to a more complex landscape of stakeholder interests. Furthermore, it is an area under increasing scrutiny from the regulator, with significant reputational and financial incentives attached to it.
This award will recognise networks which have achieved breakthroughs in stakeholder engagement; and which have gone above and beyond their statutory requirements to achieve greater diversity of stakeholder input into key strategic plans, or captured and utilised inputs in new and innovative ways.
The judges will be looking for:
- Quantifiable evidence of how engagement has benefited stakeholders
- Evidence of going beyond regulatory requirements and business as usual
- Evidence of innovation or fresh thinking in stakeholder engagement and utilisation of stakeholder inputs
- Evidence of how the engagement, or the learnings/benefits from the engagement, will be embedded into future business strategy and actions
As energy networks prepare for a radically different future, they are seeking new products and technologies that will help them meet changing customer needs and system demands efficiently and effectively.
This award will recognise new technologies or products that are judged to have game changing potential to create lasting benefits for its originator, the energy networks industry, customers and other stakeholders.
The judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of innovation – does this product or technology help utilities do something genuinely new or different?
- Quantifiable evidence of the benefit the product creates, for the business, its customers and other stakeholders
- Evidence of applicability across the industry: could this product or technology help more than one network business?
Today’s power and gas network operators are expected to be far more than accomplished engineering organisations or passive utilities service providers.
This award will recognise the company our judges believe has acted in the past 12 months as an exemplar of what tomorrow’s energy networks should be – innovative, agile, inclusive and committed to the delivery of outstanding experiences for all customers, especially those in vulnerable circumstances.
The judges will be looking for:
- Evidence of a strong culture of responsible business with a formalised framework for delivering social contract obligations and promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of a diverse and inclusive workforce
- An outstanding record of delivery, with evidence of strong operational efficiency, excellent reliability and high customer satisfaction scores
- Evidence of robust and industry-leading stakeholder engagement and the ability to demonstrate how this has shaped the business’s strategy
- Evidence of a commitment to innovation, and a record of embedding innovation back into business as usual
- Evidence of a proactive strategy to combatting climate change and facilitating decarbonisation, both in terms of adopting new approaches to network operations and from a wider corporate sustainability perspective
- Evidence of robust financial performance and financial transparency
Electricity networks are pursuing a wide variety of innovation projects, leveraging funding from a variety of sources, to catalyse a transformational shift in the way the power system operates and support delivery of the UK’s 2050 net zero emissions target.
This award will recognise outstanding innovation projects from electricity network operators which demonstrably contribute to accelerating or reducing the cost of decarbonisation to the UK.
The judges will be looking for:
- Projects that have produced quantifiable benefits for the environment, customers and other stakeholders within the past 12 months
- Projects that have the potential to create significant future benefits across the industry and beyond, where learnings have been effectively shared
- Projects that have created genuine business change, with findings successfully embedded into business as usual
Gas networks are pursuing a wide variety innovation projects, leveraging funding from a variety of sources, to catalyse a transformational shift in the way the gas grid operates and support delivery of the UK’s 2050 net zero emissions target.
This award will recognise outstanding innovation projects from gas network operators which demonstrably contribute to accelerating or reducing the cost of decarbonisation to the UK.
The judges will be looking for:
- Projects that have produced quantifiable benefits for the environment, customers and other stakeholders within the past 12 months
- Projects that have the potential to create significant future benefits across the industry and beyond, where learnings have been effectively shared
- Projects that have created genuine business change, with findings successfully embedded into business as usual
Outstanding Contribution to Industry Award
The passion and commitment of key individuals working in and around the UK energy networks industry is a source of constant inspiration to Utility Week.
This award will be presented to an individual selected independently by Utility Week, with the guidance of our expert judging panel, in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the development of the industry and to safeguarding the interests of those it serves.
If you would like to nominate a worthy individual to be considered for this award, please contact nicolagillman@fav-house.com.