• • • NEWS • • •


ECA warns Liz Truss to act now to avoid industry crisis L


eading electrotechnical and engineering services body ECA is urging new Prime Minister Liz Truss to support


the sector and focus on prioritising skills, electrification and net zero. The electrotechnical industry is key to upgrading


Britain’s energy infrastructure. However, their work needs urgent Government support to survive the energy bills crisis. Andrew Eldred, ECA director of workforce and public


affairs, said: “One of Liz Truss’ first orders of business as PM must be to bring down the cost of energy by supporting the transition to low cost, low carbon solutions. Our sector is leading the way in pivoting businesses to net zero energy saving solutions. “But in an industry dominated by SMEs averaging 2.5%


profit margin and faced with more than 23% inflation, the vast majority will struggle to cope with the latest energy price hikes adding to their own business overheads.” Mr Eldred added: “Ms Truss must act now to support electrotechnical SMEs and avoid an industry crisis with


Martindale Electric urges gas engineers to take extra care around electricity


engineers can come into contact with electricity whilst carrying out seemingly innocuous tasks and, sadly, preventable deaths still occur in the workplace. “We are urging all gas engineers to identify the point of isolation, lock


E


off the electricity supply and place warning tags onto the equipment before they begin any work,” says Steve Dunning, Martindale’s managing director. “It is vitally important and could save your life.” It was agreed in July 2020 that gas engineers need to be able to show


that they have the knowledge and competence to isolate the electrical supply to a gas appliance safely. By July 2025, the five-year ACS cycle will be completed, which means that all gas engineers should have knowledge of safe electrical


isolation. The Gas Safe


Register’s Technical Bulletin 118 addressed test procedures to keep service engineers safe


from electrical hazards. The guidance requires


verification of mains earthing


and safe isolation of circuits. It described how it’s important to demonstrate the effectiveness of the earthing for Class 1 equipment before carrying out any work. With this in mind, Martindale developed the TB118KIT1 Kit especially


for gas engineers. It includes the VIPD138 voltage indicator & proving unit, the EZ650 earth loop and polarity checker for socket and spur testing and the LOKKITGAS1, which enables gas service engineers to securely lock off circuits before carrying out work on appliances connected to the mains power supply.


6 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • SEPTEMBER 2022 electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk


lectrical safety specialist Martindale Electric is urging gas engineers to take extra care when working with or around electricity. Many gas


review of Environmental and Social (green) levies on energy bills. The current levies mean electricity is taxed four times more than gas. Taxing both fuels equally could reduce domestic fuel bills by £100 per year. This will also provide an immediate incentive to


increase the electrification of the UK’s energy, heat and transport networks, bolster the UK’s decarbonisation efforts, and help us become more energy-independent and less vulnerable to price fluctuations. In an open letter backed by signatories including


construction industry bodies BESA, BSRIA, FETA, MCS and SELECT, ECA has urged the Prime Minister to shift the balance of levies from electricity to gas, thereby encouraging a switch to electricity.


BGEN appoints Envirovue as part of net zero goals


B


GEN, a specialist, multi- discipline engineering solutions


business, has partnered with sustainable waste management experts Envirovue to help hit its net zero plans by reducing waste outputs across the organisation. Warrington-headquartered BGEN


works internationally with businesses such as ExxonMobil and EDF. As well as focusing on the reduction of single-use waste and increasing the recycling levels across its site, the organisation has committed to being net zero by 2035. The scope of work includes BGEN


transitioning all its waste streams, including site waste plastics, packaging, WEEE and hazardous waste from office and factory locations across the business to Envirovue in order to increase recycling levels. Daniel Redfern, director at Envirovue, said: “Supporting


businesses to play their part in reducing carbon emissions and improving their sustainability initiatives is key to what we do, so we are thrilled to be working with BGEN to manage their waste streams in the most environmentally friendly way possible.” We’ve already implemented some


quick win changes that can minimise waste, and we are looking forward to seeing how our work will support the organisation and its clients in the long term”. Oliver Groarke, head of


sustainability at BGEN, added: “As a business we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint as soon as possible, with the recent £500,000 investment to transform our headquarters into a net zero building a good example of this. “We’ve partnered with Envirovue to


help transform how our waste is managed and processed.”


severe knock-on effects across the construction supply chain, the likes of which we have not seen since the collapse of Carillion in 2018.” ECA is also urging Ms Truss to bring forward the


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48