Spencer Thompson, CEO of Eclipse Power, shares his insights on the evolving energy landscape, discussing key challenges in infrastructure, regulatory reforms, and the road to net zero. He highlights emerging technologies, workforce development, and Eclipse Power’s role in streamlining electricity connections while driving innovation and efficiency across the sector.
Having worked across various utilities sectors, what do you see as the biggest challenges facing the electricity and energy industry today, particularly in terms of infrastructure and customer access?
In electricity, the biggest challenges today are managing the energy transition to help deliver net zero while preserving energy security. Far from only affecting the UK, these are global issues that demand massive investment in ‘the grid’. Delivering on these challenges requires courage, investment and regulatory support.
Regulatory reforms that will help – such as electricity market reforms, network price controls, energy pricing and increased competition – need accelerating. In the UK, there are hundreds of billions of pounds worth of investment available to deliver renewables and infrastructure modernisation, like new networks and smart grids, but progress is stalled. This is why Clean Power 2030 and Connections Reform will help. However, I would also say the market requires quicker signals to bolster confidence and momentum.
There are also emerging applications, such as data centres and the electrification of shipping, that are introducing new complexities that haven’t yet been fully appreciated. Overall, it’s an exciting time in the industry, but greater speed and decisiveness are needed to meet the many challenges ahead.
With your extensive background in engineering and asset management, which emerging technologies or innovations do you believe have the potential to transform the utilities industry in the next decade?
I’ve been blessed to experience all aspects of the electricity industry. I’ve seen firsthand the importance of skills and talent, and that ultimately it is people who drive innovation.
Today, we have a hot labour market with an excess of demand and a shortage of skilled professionals. Though there are some skills programmes in place, much more is required to support grid expansion and electricity infrastructure challenges at all levels.
The UK’s wind turbine factories are a blueprint for success on this front. We should follow their footsteps and take a similar approach with grid-specific workforce training, manufacturing and construction.
The push towards a net zero future is reshaping the energy landscape. What do you see as the main hurdles in achieving this transition, and how can companies across the sector contribute to overcoming them?
One of the biggest hurdles is the industry’s ability to deliver the required grid upgrades in the 10 to 15-year timeframe that’s necessary. We are already witnessing supply chain constraints emerge due to long lead times, European plants at capacity, and the sector’s construction resource shortage.
To take these hurdles in our stride, we need to expand UK manufacturing and establish accelerated training and skills centres. The recently announced 2025 skills passport initiative will play a part in helping workers gain and develop the skills and expertise required for clean power jobs in the future.
Domestic investment would attract new talent and minimise our dependence on overseas supply chains. As a consequence, we’d have the capacity and resilience needed to meet the demand of the net zero transition in the limited timeframe that we have.
Eclipse Power focuses on guiding customers through the electricity connection process with agility and simplicity. How do you ensure these principles are embedded across the company’s operations and culture?
At Eclipse we try very hard to be agile for our customers and help them navigate the complex world of the electricity grid. Despite the sector-wide skills shortages, we have a team full of talented people dedicated to getting customers connected to the national grid – or set up with their own microgrids.
Our seasoned industry professionals come from several utilities sectors. They work tirelessly to positively influence the industry, steering it towards reform, greater competition, and accelerated grid connections.
We are also continually recruiting fresh talent, including university graduates and technicians from adjacent sectors who want to make a difference. The electricity industry has changed enormously over recent years, as too has the need for electrical engineers, which offers diverse career opportunities in areas such as financial modelling and asset management.
Since joining Eclipse Power in 2022, what progress are you most proud of, and what are your key priorities for the company’s growth and evolution over the coming years?
I am most proud of our talented team of over 60 professionals working across multiple disciplines and how they adapt every day to the rapidly changing environment. Though the market is competitive, and the grid connection process is complex – too complex! – our team remains dedicated to driving positive change for our customers.
Looking ahead, our priorities are to continue advocating smarter regulations and streamlined processes so that we can make the grid connection process simpler and get our customers energised faster.
