17 Nov Half-century for Hornchurch electricity worker with staying power
A Hornchurch man has had his long service with the electricity industry recognised by his employer, UK Power Networks, marking his personal half-century.
The company, which distributes electricity across the East of England, invites employees who have given 40 years of continuous service to join a special 40-plus club with a further recognition for those who reach 50 years.
Brian Rodgers, who turns 73 in December, has done just that after joining what was then the London Electricity Board as an apprentice in 1971 and still working part-time today as a project engineer. He was also recently been given a Lifetime Achievement accolade at the company’s Living our Values awards.
Among his many career highlights was playing his part within the team to keep the power flowing for athletes and spectators during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
Brian said: “I could probably write a book on my career, but I’m not sure who would want to read it! If there’s a key to my longevity it’s as simple as this being an interesting job I still really enjoy. Being involved in this industry is the best decision I ever made.
“I delayed my retirement from full-time work to stay involved in London 2012. Ensuring the power flowed for the Olympics was a major challenge for everyone given we started with a brown field site in East London and had to build a new electricity network from scratch.
“I remember the verdict afterwards being it must have gone well because we weren’t mentioned once! Nobody raised concerns about the power supply for the Games so it was job done for us.
“I did eventually retire from full-time work in 2015, but have still been doing two days a week part-time since then and plan to carry on for as long as I’m able to.
“I’ve always been someone who shares the knowledge I have with my colleagues. I don’t keep things to myself, it’s about helping those you work with and being part of a team. I say to people I’ll stay as long as you are all nice to me and because they don’t want me to go, they generally are!”
Technology and communications are the main changes he has witnessed during his career, having joined the industry in an era without today’s computers and mobile phones.
Brian added: “Technology is one of the biggest changes, I remember when a colleague got a programmable calculator the size of large desk phone and we were all excited by that. We used to have a computer with only 256KB of RAM (memory) helping to monitor our substations, which is laughable now but it was state of the art in its time.
“My original interest in the electricity industry probably stems from my uncle Derek, who was my father’s twin brother. His hobby was fixing up televisions and radios so I learned a lot from him.
“I had an interview with Eastern Electricity, but didn’t get the job, before getting my first break with the London Electricity Board. I remember a long table and being interviewed by at least six or seven people, but I had learned my lessons from a few weeks before and gave the answers they wanted to hear!
“I have now put in three control systems [managing power supplies remotely], the first in 1978, the next in 1989/90 and the most recent upgrade in 2010 so that’s my personal hat-trick, but I’ve been involved with a whole range of projects for the company.”
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.”
UK Power Networks 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.
