Cox, engineering and technical director for the region’s power network operator, was appointed to the pro-manchester board following a strong selection process.
The appointment comes as earlier this year, Electricity North West launched its ‘Leading the North West to zero carbon’ plan with Manchester being a major focus in its future projects and investment plans.
Cox, who has 30 years’ industry experience, is leading the team which is pioneering the way electricity is distributed and managed with demand expected to double over the next 20 years as the number of low carbon technologies connecting to the network rapidly increases.
As the region’s network operator, Electricity North West is the technical architect leading the change to a zero carbon future and has an extremely important role to play.
Following his appointment, Cox joins the board which includes chair Jenn Hazlehurst, who is a managing office partner at EY.
He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be appointed to the pro-manchester board. The North West’s journey in transitioning to a net-zero carbon future is under way and we at Electricity North West are at the forefront of that.
“Greater Manchester has set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2038. With businesses responsible for using two thirds of the carbon, we need them to lead the charge in order to reach this with Electricity North West investing £1m per day in the network to ensure the capacity is there to support this transition.
“In this role, I look forward to offering expertise and support as businesses across the region look at how they adopt low carbon technologies in order to meet the region’s decarbonisation targets.
In March, Electricity North West launched its ‘Leading the North West to zero carbon’ plan.
The plan sets out how Electricity North West is investing £63.5 million over the next four years, to drive down its own carbon emissions and help businesses and customers to do the same.
Cox added: “It is our responsibility, as the region’s power network operator, to lead the way in the North West’s zero carbon transformation.
“We’re investing heavily to ensure targets are met and I look forward to working with businesses from across the North West in the future.”
Of Steve’s addition to the board, pro-manchester Chief Executive, Sam Booth said: “It is great to have the representation of Steve on our board. Having a company as large as Electricity North West advocating what we are trying to achieve for the Greater Manchester business community is a great asset to us.
“Electricity North West are making an impact across multiple sectors that we support, and we are excited to be working closer together going forward. Steve’s inclusion on our board also reflects our strategy to move pro-manchester from a professional services organisation to an organisation that represents the key sectors of growth in our region.”
For more information about Electricity North West’s Leading the North West to zero carbon plan, visit www.enwl.co.uk/zerocarbon.
