John Whelan retires

John whelan, of EirGrid Key Accounts, ESBIe-fm, retired in May after a 44 year career in ESB and ESBI. John joined ESB in 1965 and on completion of his apprenticeship was assigned as a Draughtsman in Projects Department. During his time there he worked on many large projects such as Poolbeg, Moneypoint, Aghada, Great Island and Shannonbridge. In 1983, he joined the Distribution Consultancy group in Haddington Road working on the Jubail Transmission Substation Projects. He returned to Projects but in 1989 transferred to ISD (now known as ITS) as an Information Technology Analyst. John joined ESB International in 1996 and worked initially in Power Department and subsequently in EPS (Electrical Power Systems).

After promotion to team leader of one of the Substation Design teams, John spent the next few years coordinating ESBI’s inputs to the ESB National Grid station refurbishment programme. These were challenging projects and John worked directly on the refurbishment projects at Shannonbridge, Lanesboro and Ardnacrusha, amongst others.

With the formation of EirGrid, John moved into the ESBI EirGrid Key Account Team as Client Engineer for EirGrid projects. His retirement was marked with a celebration in ESBI. All staff wish John and his wife Ger a happy, long and healthy retirement.

Tony Higgins retires

Tony higgins retired from Asset Management Services in ESBIe-fm after a 44 year career in ESB and ESBI. The event was marked by a celebratory retirement presentation in ESBI, Stephen Court in Dublin.

After entering ESB in 1965 as a graduate trainee, Tony joined ESB Power Generation, where he worked on the Tarbert and Poolbeg projects and later became a member of the Nuclear Project Group. A move to Distribution Department followed in 1973, where Tony worked on plant and design and then progressed to Dublin City District office in Fleet Street, as the Engineer in charge of 10kV and LV construction. While there, he was appointed Functional Specialist in the System Research and Development Division of Distribution Department.

As ESB’s international business began to develop, Tony became increasingly involved in consultancy, beginning with a four-year secondment in Saudi Arabia where he worked on a number of projects, including the Jubail Project, one of ESB’s largest international contracts at that time. With the establishment of ESBI, Tony got involved in all aspects of technical consultancy and travelled widely developing the ESBI profile. Tony was a Technical Specialist in ESBI Engineering’s Asset Management Services for many years and has been involved in all aspects of asset maintenance strategy and implementation.

His colleagues in ESB and ESBI wish Tony a long and a happy retirement.