The Wales & West Utilities Leadership Team: (L-R Back: Programme Director Rob Long, People & Engagement Director Sarah Hopkins, General Counsel Paul Millar, Director of Finance Neil Henson, Director of Asset Management & HSE Chris Clarke, L-R Front: Director of Operations Andrew Hopkins, Chief Executive Graham Edwards, Director of Business Services Mark Oliver and Facilities Manager Andrew Smith
Gas emergency and pipeline service Wales & West Utilities marked the completion of a programme of refurbishment at their head office in Newport by burying a time capsule to commemorate the people who work for the company, their past and their future.
The refurbishment work started in May 2016 and included the construction of an updated reception; new meeting rooms and new facilities to support the buildings 24 hour, 365 day operation and make sure the company can continue to keep the 7.5m people they serve across Wales and the south west of England safe and warm.
The gas emergency and pipeline service for Wales and the south west of England has been based at Celtic Springs business park in Coedkernew since 2006, with the companies despatchers – who run the gas emergency service, and the System Control Room, which controls the gas network from Wrexham to Redruth, located in the building.
Chief Executive Graham Edwards (c), formally opens the refurbished reception at Wales & West House with colleagues from Wales & West Utilities.
Wales & West Utilities Facilities Manager, Andrew Smith, who project managed the work said:
“This work is part of our programme of rationalising and modernising our bases across Wales and the south west of England, making sure they are fit for purpose and cost effective, helping us to deliver excellent levels of service and value for money to our customers.
“Our investment in Wales & West House follows the opening of a new operational base in Colwyn Bay and the start of work on a new base in Wrexham, while bases in Bridgwater, Swindon and Redruth have been freshened up.”
Wales & West Utilities Chief Executive, Graham Edwards added:
“Wales & West House has become our home over the last 10 years, and having purchased it outright in 2014 we have carefully considered improvements to make sure it can support our operations as effectively as possible, making sure we can deliver outstanding levels of gas safety, service and reliability to the communities we serve.
“And having celebrated our tenth birthday last year, it seemed fitting to bury a time capsule to commemorate the work our engineers and our support staff have done – and will continue to do – to keep our customers safe and warm.”
Wales & West Utilities, the gas emergency and pipeline service that serves Wales and the south west of England, puts customers at the heart of the business and is rated the top utility company in the UK for customer service. If anyone smells gas, thinks they have a gas leak, or suspects carbon monoxide poisoning, they should call us on 0800 111 999 and our engineers will be there to help, day or night.