System Operator for Northern Ireland announces four new director appointments in major transformation milestone

SONI (System Operator for Northern Ireland) has announced the appointment of four new director posts.

The appointments mark a major new transformation milestone on the organisation’s journey as Northern Ireland’s Transmission System Operator.

The announcement follows the appointment of the grid operator’s new, independent Board in October 2023.

The appointments establish four new directorates within the System Operator to enable the organisation to develop further capacity and capability to support Northern Ireland’s renewable energy ambitions.

The appointees, a mixture of successful external candidates and the promotion of existing senior SONI executives, are as follows:

Emma Morris, director of operations, Gerard Carlin, director of networks and innovation, Kevin O’Neill, director of strategy and regulation

and Frank O’Connor, director of finance.

The new appointments form part of a new organisational structure designed to implement changes made to the System Operator’s licence by the Utility Regulator. These changes provided for further managerial and operational independence between SONI and its parent company, EirGrid plc.

Speaking about the appointments, SONI chief executive, Alan Campbell, said: “Northern Ireland’s target to ensure 80% of all electricity consumed comes from renewable sources by 2030, and our wider 2050 net zero obligations, are hugely challenging in their scale, pace and complexity, but they also offer huge opportunity to decarbonise our society and sustainably grow our economy.

“As critical enabling infrastructure, the Northern Ireland high voltage electricity grid needs to be transformed in an unprecedented way, both in a physical and operational context, to securely facilitate world-leading levels of new, weather-dependent, intermittent forms of generation.

“These appointments mark a further significant transformation milestone on our mission is to be a world-class Transmission System Operator working for everyone in Northern Ireland. Each new director brings a wealth of experience and expertise to further build our capacity and capability to support the delivery of Northern Ireland’s renewable energy ambitions.

“As Northern Ireland Transmission System Operator, we have embarked on an exciting, new phase of our journey. To further our collective ambition of a cleaner, more secure energy future for homes, farms and businesses across Northern Ireland, we are committed to expanding our team and capabilities. We look forward to creating diverse opportunities for growth and development across all levels of our organisation, from entry-level positions to senior roles.”