SHARING the JOURNEY

ord Gáis Energy’s new plumbing and heating apprenticeship programme went live in March, starting with the rst cohort of candidates in Dublin and soon to be rolled out in Cork and Limerick. A goal has been set that 30% of the apprentices will be female by 2030 – a strong signal of intent to help to increase the proportion of female apprentices in Ireland from its current low rate of 6%.

With plans to create more than 300 positions over the next ve years, Bord Gáis Energy has welcomed all applications regardless of age, gender identity or background. e programme has been “inundated” with applications from a wide range of candidates, from school leavers to older people keen to reinvent their careers, according to Bord Gáis Energy’s Director of Services and Solutions Teresa Purtill –who is personally passionate about diversity as the organisation’s Ambassador for Neurodiversity.

“We have been very encouraged by the response from women, with many saying they were prompted to apply as the ‘30% by 2030’ target really resonated with them. We are currently well on track to achieving this target and may have to revise it upwards,” she says. Bord Gáis Energy was inspired by parent company Centrica’s plan to recruit 1,000 apprentices over the next two years, with the ambition of 50% being women.

our Services team.”

“The National Residential Retrofit Plan, which aims to achieve the equivalent of 500,000 homes retrofitted to a Building Energy Rating of B2 and the installation of 400,000 heat pumps in existing premises by the end of 2030, is a major opportunity to support the transition to a lower-carbon future. However, it is facing significant implementation challenges,” says Purtill.

“There are critical skills shortages in this area and significant investment is required to deliver the workforce needed. Our new apprenticeship programme reflects our commitment to being part of the national effort to solve the problem. The retrofit plan presents opportunities for thousands of skilled workers, but also an opportunity to transform our business and significantly expand our Services team.”

Imagining a better way

The new apprenticeship drive is one of the latest developments in Bord Gáis Energy’s transformation journey to become a leading net-zero business in Ireland by 2045 and to help its customers reach net zero by 2050. As its ‘Imagining a better way’ sustainability strategy outlines, Bord Gáis Energy’s ambition is to use its “services, footprint and propositions to better both people and planet”.

As part of the ‘People’ pillar of its sustainability strategy, Bord Gáis Energy ramped up its efforts to offer significant career opportunities to its existing engineers in 2022, by providing upskilling in areas such as team leadership and renewable technologies.

“We have been working closely with the British Gas training facility for the past five years. Our mission is to upskill engineers to be home energy experts and trusted energy advisors. This has included training our existing gas service and boiler engineers to install heat pumps,” Purtill explains.

“Heat pumps offer an attractive alternative to fossil-fuel heating systems for well-insulated homes but must be considered in the context of a property’s overall energy efficiency. Our engineers offer advice on the suitability of heat pumps and other installations, helping people to make the right choices on how best to decarbonise their homes.

“Having previously partnered with Energlaze, we recently introduced our own offering, allowing customers to order directly from us and have a heat pump installed by one of our engineers.”

The Services and Solutions department was newly established within Bord Gáis Energy at the end of 2021 with the purpose of spearheading the drive towards a sustainable energy future. Led by Purtill, the department has the specific responsibility of rolling out innovative products and solutions to help its over 730,000 business and residential customers with their energy usage.

“We have made significant progress. The services business grew by 24% last year, with 65,000 visits into homes. Our engineers are already being seen as trusted advisors and we want to build on that further,” she says.

“Bord Gáis Energy’s sustainability strategy is deeply rooted in helping to reduce energy consumption and making the switch away from fossil fuels. With this in mind, one of the key areas we have made significant progress in over the past 12 months is solar-panel installation.”

Solar partnership

Building on their long-standing relationship, Bord Gáis Energy and the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) launched a new partnership last November, which is offering solar

Protecting And Supporting Customers

In the face of economic challenges, Bord Gáis Energy is seeking to protect customers through absorbing some of the worst increases in wholesale energy prices. It has put in place a €3.6m energy support fund for customers experiencing challenges with the cost of living, committing 10% of operating profit from other parts of the business to further support customers who need it most right now.

“Supporting the most vulnerable in society is very important to us through our ongoing work with Focus Ireland, St Vincent de Paul, MABS and Alone. There is a dedicated team within Bord Gáis Energy and 18,000 payment plans were set up in 2022 to help people through this di icult period,” says Teresa Purtill, Director of Services and Solutions. As an extension of its work with Focus Ireland since 2015, Bord Gáis participates in its PETE programme to o er employment opportunities to those at risk of homelessness.

solutions to Irish farmers. Based on IFA member feedback, they identi ed that farmers across all sectors were seeking a renewable energy solution due to rising input costs and the environmental bene ts. e launch followed a pilot project to establish the commercial feasibility of the installation of roof-top solar technology on Irish farms. e pilot worked closely with farmers from di erent sectors, farm sizes and geographies, clearly and objectively establishing the bene ts of solar for all farmers involved.

“We have seen a strong expression of interest in solar solutions from farmers in the past three months. e rst surveys are in progress ahead of installations on farms. What sets Bord Gáis Energy apart from other service providers is that we o er to be there throughout the life cycle of these products, providing technical expertise and support. From spending time on the pilot among the agricultural community, it was clear farmers were looking for trusted and reliable advice on making the appropriate investments,” says Purtill.

“ ere is no doubt that there is a strong appetite for solar technology among farmers. Changes in available funding, for example through Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes, will signi cantly increase demand. Our objective is to bring a ordable, reliable and innovative solar solutions for Irish farmers to market that are suitable for a wide range of farms and sectors.” e solar proposition is not limited to farming; a number of Bord Gáis Energy’s residential customers have already expressed an interest in solar installation as well as packages for energy supply incorporating solar.

“Our approach with business customers is no di erent to residential. We will be bringing a new range of innovative smart products for business customers to market as part of our commitment to support Irish SMEs on their decarbonisation journeys,” adds Purtill.

“At Bord Gáis Energy, we fully support the Government’s target of reaching 80% renewable energy by 2030. Our current renewable supply portfolio is 350MW from wind and solar power-purchase agreements. We are contracted for 530MW by 2025 and are looking to treble our current rate by 2030 with projects under development.”

Improving Security Of Energy Supply

In January, Bord Gáis Energy and its parent company Centrica plc, announced they had started a long-term investment in Ireland, with over €250m approved for the construction of two innovative new power plants. When completed, the new plants – located in Athlone, Co Roscommon and Profile Park, Co Dublin – will provide 200MW of flexible, gas-fired power generation; enough to keep 100,000 homes fully powered all year round. Because they’re flexible, they can easily be switched on and o as demand peaks, helping to make Ireland’s energy supply more stable and secure.

“These so-called ‘peaker’ plants are capable of moving from a standing start to full power generation inside of six minutes. Both are expected to be online by the end of 2024 and will be hydrogen-enabled, in preparation for running on renewable gas when it is available,” says Teresa Purtill, Director of Services and Solutions, Bord Gáis Energy.