New independent board marks new chapter for SONI
In its announcement, Northern Ireland’s grid operator said that the appointment of its new independent board marked a significant and exciting new milestone. To mark the occasion, agendaNi sat down with SONI Managing Director, Alan Campbell, and newly appointed Chair, Peter McNaney.
Castlereagh House, the grid operator’s main office, is located deep within the Castlereagh Hills. It is not a building many of us will routinely notice, but it is crucially important in the successful functioning of life here in Northern Ireland.
Only a stone’s throw away from where we meet Alan Campbell and Peter McNaney is SONI’s Control Centre, a room where a team of highly experienced power system engineers manage the electricity grid, every second of every day.
SONI is Northern Ireland’s Transmission System Operator (TSO). It ensures power can flow safely, securely, and reliably from where it is generated, by the private companies who own power stations, wind turbines, and solar farms, to where it is needed in homes, farms, and businesses across Northern Ireland.
The grid operator recently announced the appointment of a new independent board – the first step in a process to implement a new suite of governance changes that will create greater managerial and operational independence from its parent company, EirGrid plc.
The appointments include the familiar face in former Belfast City Council Chief Executive, Peter McNaney, who will chair the new Board, as well as former NIE Networks stalwart Peter Ewing, former senior Scottish Power executive Angela Love, and experienced finance and regulatory executive Charlie Villar.
“We are entering a really significant and exciting new phase of our journey here in SONI and it comes at a hugely important time in the energy transition as a whole,” remarks Campbell, who has been SONI Managing Director since 2020 and the former top executive at Coolkeeragh, one of Northern Ireland’s largest power stations.
In addition to running the electricity grid in the present, SONI looks ahead to understand and plan for Northern Ireland’s future energy needs. It has the responsibility for upgrading the electricity grid to facilitate more sources of renewable energy, a crucial task to enable the delivery of Northern Ireland’s 2030 clean energy targets.
“Northern Ireland has really ambitious and important clean energy targets, which mean we need 80 per cent of all the electricity we consume to come from renewable sources by 2030. We have the important task of transforming the grid and how it is operated so it can manage more variable forms of renewable energy. The scale of this change and transformation is unprecedented, but we have a great team of highly experienced engineers and a clear plan for how we get there.”
SONI recently published an updated version of its Shaping Our Electricity Future Roadmap – the plan which sets out the reforms needed in the electricity system to reach the 2030 targets. The grid operator is also consulting on its draft 10-year Transmission Development Plan which details the new infrastructure required to meet Northern Ireland’s electricity needs.
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Peter McNaney – Chair Peter McNaney has a wealth of experience in senior leadership roles in Northern Ireland gained in both executive and non-executive roles in corporate governance, shaping strategy and effective implementation, leading change and successfully facilitating complex partnerships. He practised as a corporate lawyer for 20 years before serving as Chief Executive of Belfast City Council between 2001 and 2014. During his time in the Council, he led a large-scale change programme that transformed the Council’s financial health and delivery capacity, resulting in the creation of a £400 million City Investment Strategy. As a non-executive, he was chair of the governing body of Belfast Metropolitan College and oversaw the building and move to the Titanic campus. He has also served as a member of the board of Invest NI. He is presently the senior independent director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Northern Ireland Water and recently stood down as Chair of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust after nine years. He is currently a member of the Council of the University of Ulster and is Chair of its Greater Belfast Development Committee which is responsible for oversight of the completion of its new £350 million inner city campus. |
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Angela Love Angela Love has over 30 years’ experience in the Great Britain/EU gas and electricity markets and brings extensive expertise from across most aspects of the energy system. She started her career at Scottish Power in commercial and financial roles, latterly as UK Strategy and External Affairs Manager for Scottish Power’s non-price regulated businesses – generation, trading, retail, and renewables. Love was a consultant for 13 years, advising clients on market arrangements across gas, electricity and water and developing business strategies. Her past roles include Chair of the Gas Forum, Director of Gas, Communications and European Affairs at the Energy Networks Association and Director of Future Markets and Engagement at Elexon. Whilst at Elexon, Love was responsible for establishing the £90 million Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement Programme and directed it for more than 18 months. She is also Chair of Scottish Power’s Energy Networks Independent Net Zero Advisory Committee and has recently taken up the position of Chair of the Cadent Gas Customer Challenge Group. Love has a passion for consumers, in particular the vulnerable and those affected by fuel poverty, and has devoted a lot of time to customer wellbeing and safety. As such, she was a Trustee of the Gas Safe Charity for nine years and has been a member of Ofgem’s Stakeholder Engagement and Customer Vulnerability Panel for six years. Love is Chair of the GB Smart Energy Code Panel and Board and an independent consultant. |
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Peter Ewing Peter Ewing is an experienced director of finance and electricity regulation, and leader of business change. With over 25 years’ experience, Ewing has been closely involved in the transformation of the electricity industry in Northern Ireland since privatisation. He has overseen multiple price controls, capital investment, IT systems implementation and acquisitions and disposals across the electricity value chain in relation to the transmission and distribution and supply of electricity, transmission system operation, interconnectors and renewable energy projects. He has extensive corporate governance experience gained through board positions and played a key role in delivering corporate strategies. Ewing was previously Director of Finance and Regulation at Northern Ireland Electricity and the Viridian Group, Deputy Managing Director and Director of Regulation and Market Operations at NIE Networks, and a Non-Executive Board Member and Treasurer at Radius Housing. Prior to this, he was Finance Director at Moy Park. A graduate of Manchester University and Queen’s University Belfast, Peter has completed the Advanced Management Programme at the INSEAD Business School. Ewing is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and an alumnus of the Philadelphia-based Eisenhower Fellowships. |
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Alan Campbell Alan Campbell is the Managing Director of SONI (System Operator for Northern Ireland), Northern Ireland’s Transmission System Operator. After graduating from Queen’s University Belfast with a First-Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering, Campbell commenced his career with AstraZeneca in England. He later joined ESB, where he progressed to manage the 400MW Coolkeeragh Power Station. He joined SONI in July 2017, as Head of Grid Infrastructure Projects and Connections and was appointed Managing Director in June 2021, having undertaken the role on an interim basis from July 2020 and been appointed to the SONI Board in December 2020. With more than 20 years’ experience, Campbell is one of Northern Ireland’s most established energy leaders. He is a trusted adviser to both government and industry, as a widely acknowledged expert in the energy system in Northern Ireland. |
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Charlie Villar Charlie Villar is an executive with finance, operations, and transformation experience. He has worked on boards, as well as with senior officials, regulators and ministers across electricity, post, telecommunications, broadcast media, and water sectors in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and Europe. In these roles, he has developed a diverse understanding of the regulatory, economic, and commercial drivers across a range of industries, and how to lead organisations through major transformations. Villar is a qualified accountant and has an MA in geography from Oxford University. |
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A lawyer and former Chief Executive of Belfast City Council, Peter McNaney is one of Northern Ireland’s most experienced executives.
“From previous experience, I understand the crucial role SONI plays in public life here, and so I relish the opportunity to take on a leadership role in an organisation that has such an important part to play in delivering a cleaner, cheaper, and more secure energy future for homes, businesses and farms across Northern Ireland,” explains the new Chair.
“We know Northern Ireland has made significant progress to integrate renewable energy into our electricity system in comparison to elsewhere, and SONI has played an important part in that success. To build on that progress, and with less than seven years to meet Northern Ireland’s ambitious clean energy targets, we are going to have to be innovative and agile in areas such as policy and regulatory reform and open-minded about doing things differently.
“As a society, we are also going to have to redouble our efforts with local communities to make the case for the new infrastructure we need now to enable everyone to feel the benefits of cleaner, cheaper, and more secure energy in the future,” he adds.
Alan Campbell looks forward to the momentum the appointment of SONI’s new Board will provide in driving forward its core mission.
“The wealth of experience and expertise that our new board offers comes at an important time for SONI. In addition to acting as strong advocates for our organisation and its people, we are looking forward to working with them and our industry, government, and regulatory partners to find new ways to accelerate our collective mission to decarbonise the electricity system for the benefit of everyone in Northern Ireland.”
T: +44 (0)28 90794336
E: info@soni.ltd.uk
W: www.soni.ltd.uk/
