A power industry legend who has helped keep the lights on in London for nearly half a century has been recognised by his employer.
Paul Smiles received the Lifetime Achievement Award at UK Power Networks’ ‘Living Our Values’ award ceremony in recognition of a 49-year career dedicated to powering homes and businesses, leading teams and inspiring the next generation of talented teams.
Having started his career as an apprentice in September 1977, Paul has ‘seen it all’ over the years and currently runs operations across central London, as what colleagues describe as a well-oiled machine.
The Bexleyheath local said: “It is nice to be recognised by the company for the career I have had over a long period of time. My family are really proud and as all operational people know, the job impacts your family too.”
Throughout his career, Paul played a key role in responding to major incidents that captured national attention, including major rebuilds of the electricity network after incidents at Dartford in 2015….and Kingsway tunnel fire, helping restore power safely and as quickly as possible for thousands of customers.
Reflecting on his career, he said: “My favourite memories are being involved in the really big incidents where you see everyone pull together to get the lights back on safely and quickly. Those moments show the very best of UK Power Networks.”
Paul is particularly proud of building the Central London team into the highly skilled operation it is today. Nearly half of the original team were trained, authorised to work on high voltage equipment, and have skills developed under Paul’s leadership. Many have since progressed into other more senior roles across the company.
He said: “We started off like a nursery school and graduated through primary and secondary school to now being a university! Seeing people accept challenges, develop their skills and knowledge and go on to achieve more has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career.”
A champion of continuous learning, he credits his mentors when he was a young engineer for constantly challenging him and said: “it taught me to keep learning every day.”
Looking ahead, Paul stressed the importance of safety remaining at the heart of every operational decision. His advice to the next generation is simple: “Be prepared to challenge anyone, no matter their position.
Always be prepared to listen, be the best person you can be and don’t have regrets about the decisions you make in your career.”
As a well-earned retirement approaches, he won’t miss the late night calls which come with such a high level of operational responsibility but he will miss the people.
“I’ll miss the morning chats – mostly not about work, and the friendships built over the years,” he added.
Paul hopes his legacy will simply be his colleagues remembering him as “a good engineer who knows his stuff.”
