Role of the CEG

Looking out for Northern Powergrid’s customers and stakeholders

The Customer Engagement Group (CEG) will play a key role in developing and quality assuring the developmentof Northern Powergrid’s 2023-2028 business plan.

The group independently scrutinises and challenges Northern Powergrid’s business plan, the quality of engagement undertaken to inform it and helps to ensure that customers’ needs and preferences are reflected. It operates in an open and transparent way and will publish a report of its findings.

The CEG also works with the Ofgem Consumer Challenge Group. It provides assurance to Ofgem that Northern Powergrid’s business plan reflects regional interests, understands and addresses customer needs and preferences and is driven by delivering for customers in an evolving and growing low carbon energy landscape.

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Team Members

    • Justin McCracken – Chair

      Justin brings a wealth of experience to the CEG with more than fifteen years’ in a regulatory capacity in national public bodies: the Health and Safety Executive; the Environment Agency; and latterly as a Non-Executive Director of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR – the economic and safety regulator for the rail industry and economic regulator for Highways England).  He has also served as Chief Executive of the Health Protection Agency and as a trustee of a charity, the British Safety Council and as a non-executive Director of Ombudsman Services (a company which runs a number of ombudsman schemes including the Energy Ombudsman).

    • Graham Oakes

      Graham has a PhD in Satellite Image Processing and a background in tech, working with firms such as Cisco, Intel, Skype and Sony.  In 2013, he created Upside Energy, a tech platform for managing flexibility on the grid.  Upside raised £10m of funding and grew to 35 staff by the end of 2018, at which point Graham stood down to focus on enabling people to participate in the Energy Transition.  Upside was subsequently sold to Octopus Energy, where it now forms the basis for its KrakenFlex platform.  Graham now supports a number of EnergyTech startups and works on local and municipal energy projects across UK and EU.  He was a member of BEIS’ Engineering Standards Review and Ofgem’s Design Advisory Board for Half Hourly Settlement, and is currently a board member of FlexAssure, the ADE’s code of conduct for demand response aggregators.  His book Project Reviews, Assurance and Governance is published by Routledge.

    • Henri Murison

      Henri brings his expertise on the importance of electricity infrastructure and the transition to Net Zero in the wider economy to the CEG. Chief Executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, he works across the wider infrastructure agenda, education, skills and wider industrial policy to drive the agenda on how to close the North – South divide. He has led work on the role of decarbonisation in driving economic growth, specifically focused on energy sector. Previously, he advised a financial services business on their government and international regulation interest as well as having wider roles in the voluntary sector and as Cabinet Member for Quality of Life at Newcastle City Council.

    • Jenny Saunders

      Jenny Saunders is an independent consultant with over 30 years working in the energy and charity sectors. Previously Chief Executive at National Energy Action, based in the North East but operational across the UK, Jenny is currently Chair of the Customer Engagement Group for NGN and has experience of Ofgem’s enhanced stakeholder engagement process for RIIO2. She was a member of the Government’s Fuel Poverty Committee from 2016 to 2022 and sat on the Advisory Group from 2018 to March 2023 to Innovate UK’s £200m PFER programme. Jenny is a Non-Executive Director of Affordable Warmth Solutions which delivers heating and energy efficiency programmes. She has previously sat on a number of energy industry stakeholder groups including Northern Powergrid’s Northern Inclusive Energy Group (former Social Issues Expert Group).

    • Mike Kay

      Mike worked at Electricity North West for 38 years, the last eight of which he was Engineering and IT Director. He chaired  the Distribution Code Review Panel for over a decade , and was a member of the Grid Code Review Panel for eighteen years. Since leaving Electricity North West in 2015 he has worked as an independent consultant on a number of projects for the regulated electricity network industries in the UK and internationally. He is a member-elected trustee of the Electricity North West pension fund.

Latest
News

Find out what’s been happening.

  • May 2023

    The Customer Engagement Group has published its annual report 2022-23

    Read More
  • May 2023

    The Customer Engagement Group has responded to Ofgem’s consultation on frameworks for future systems and network.

    Read More
  • May 2023

    The Customer Engagement Group has responded to Ofgem’s Consultation on the future of local energy institutions and governance

    Read More
  • Nov 2022

    Customer Engagement Group observe Northern Powergrid’s Storm Exercise

    Read More
  • Aug 2022

    Customer Engagement Group response to Ofgem’s Consultation on ED2 Draft Determinations

    Read More
  • Jan 2022

    Report of Customer Engagement Group on Northern Powergrid’s business plan

    Read More
  • Dec 2021

    Report on the November Customer Engagement Group Meeting

    Read More
  • Oct 2021

    Report on the September Customer Engagement Group Meeting

    Read More
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Downloadable Content

Documents & Downloads

Document Search & Filter

Customer Engagement Group – Register of Interests

Customer Engagement Group’s Register of Interests.

Updated: 05/09/2023 Download

Customer Engagement Group annual report 2022-23

This report covers the work of the independent Northern Powergrid Customer Engagement Group (CEG) from the beginning of 2022 until the end of March 2023.

Updated: 31/05/2023 Download

Customer Engagement Group – Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference for the CEG.

Updated: 23/10/2022 Download

Report of Customer Engagement Group on Northern Powergrid’s business plan

Report of CEG on Northern Powergrid’s business plan.

Updated: 17/01/2022 Download

Customer Engagement Group meeting – November 2021

Report on CEG monthly meeting, November 2021 – focus on Northern Powergrid’s continued work on its final Business Plan, Stakeholder Engagement work, and our final report.

Updated: 14/12/2021 Download

Customer Engagement Group Meeting – September 2021

Report on CEG monthly meeting, September 2021 – focus on Northern Powergrid’s continued work on its final Business Plan, Environmental Emissions, and Stakeholder Engagement work.

Updated: 12/10/2021 Download

Customer Engagement Group Meeting – July 2021

Report on CEG monthly meeting, July 2021 – focus on draft business plan, Stakeholder Engagement work and Ofgem’s ‘minded to’ decisions on its Access and Forward Looking Charges Review.

Updated: 10/08/2021 Download

Customer Engagement Group – Second Interim Report

CEG Second Interim Report, providing a public record of the work of the group.

Updated: 03/08/2021 Download

Customer Engagement Group Meeting – June 2021

Report on CEG monthly meeting, June 2021 – focus on draft business plan and Stakeholder Engagement Work.

Updated: 07/07/2021 Download

Customer Engagement Group Meeting – May 2021

Report on CEG monthly meeting, May 2021 – focus on draft business plan and Stakeholder Engagement Work.

Updated: 15/06/2021 Download

Customer Engagement Group Meeting – April 2021

Report on CEG monthly meeting, April 2021 – focus on Decarbonisation, Workforce Resilience and Stakeholder Engagement work.

Updated: 19/05/2021 Download

Customer Engagement Group Meeting – March 2021

Report on CEG monthly meeting, March 2021 – focus on Innovation activities and Stakeholder Engagement work.

Updated: 15/04/2021 Download

Contact Us

Get in touch

If you would like to pose any questions to the CEG or find out more about how it’s helping to ensure Northern Powergrid’s future plans reflect the needs of the customers, stakeholders and the communities it serves, email ceg@northernpowergrid.com