MP Visits Local Pensioner Helped By npower Warmth Scheme

Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle Central, has visited a local pensioner to see first-hand the difference made by npower’s Health Through Warmth scheme.

Seventy-eight-year-old Don Grant and his wife Anne were left without heating when their boiler broke down recently. Don has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and Anne, his wife, has limited mobility due to a recent operation on her spine. When their 20+ year-old boiler started to leak they were left without heating and found the cold made their health conditions much worse.

Unsure where to turn to for help, Don spoke to a local Warm Zone benefit advisor, who referred the couple to npower Heath Through Warmth in Newcastle. The scheme aims to help residents whose health is made worse by cold and damp living conditions, and they don’t have adequate heating and insulation in their homes.

Realising the urgency of the couple’s circumstances, the local Health Through Warmth co-ordinator immediately arranged for a new boiler installation. Don had served in the armed forces, so SSAFA Forces Help was able to contribute towards the cost of the work and the remaining balance was paid by the unique npower Health through Warmth Crisis Fund.

Chi Onwurah MP was joined by Elaine Midwinter, npower Health Through Warmth scheme manager; Julie Jaglowski, customer services director, for npower; Jill Delf, operations manager at Newcastle Warm Zone cic and Bronwen Banner, benefits advisor at Newcastle Warm Zone cic.

Chi Onwurah MP commented: “npower Health through Warmth is a fantastic scheme that demonstrates how successful partnership working can be in helping local residents here in Newcastle. Since the scheme launched it has done an invaluable job supporting vulnerable members of our community and I’d urge anyone who has a cold or damp related illness to get in touch with the local Health Through Warmth co-ordinator to see if they are eligible for help.”

Don explained: “We couldn’t be more thankful for how npower Health through Warmth has helped us. The work was done very quickly and efficiently, meaning we were soon warm and comfortable in our home once again.”

Newcastle is one of 15 areas across England and Wales in which npower’s Health through Warmth scheme operates. Managed locally by Newcastle Warm Zone cic in partnership with Newcastle City Council and Newcastle and North Tyneside Community Health, more than 18,400 residents have been referred to the scheme since it began in 2003. The scheme also launched in North Tyneside in October 2010, and has received over 3,700 referrals to date.

Each npower Health through Warmth referral is assessed on an individual basis and funding can be accessed from a variety of sources, including the unique npower Health through Warmth Crisis Fund, government grants and charitable funds.

Elaine Midwinter, npower Health through Warmth scheme manager, added: “Like Mr and Mrs Grant, there are many residents in Newcastle whose health is made worse by cold and damp living conditions.

“npower’s Health Through Warmth scheme operates all year round, so even though the summer months are here, we would encourage people to get in touch to find out if they could be eligible to receive help from the scheme.”

Via EPR Network
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npower ‘What’s Your Goal’ Gives Teens Start In Football Industry

Npower’s ‘What’s Your Goal’ series, broadcast on Sky Sports, has given six UK teenagers their start in the football industry. The programme follows the journeys of six ambitious youngsters as they get to grips with working alonsgide the brightest and best behind the scenes in the football industry.

Aizaz Hussain from Surrey kickstarted a career in the football industry with John Sibley as a sports photographer on national TV. Aizaz beat hundreds of eager young people to win the one-of-a-kind work experience placement. He can be seen being mentored by Action Images veteran John Sibley and completing a challenge set by him.

Renaee Oduro from Brixton was mentored by Sky Sports’ Billy McGinty as a TV producer on national TV and can be seen completing a challenge set by McGinty on the show.

Grace Copley from Leicestershiore was mentored by Lynn Walker, the business manager for Ipswich Town FC, shadowing her for the day as she ‘meets and greets’ important commerical partners. Grace was even given the responsibility of presenting competion winners with their prize in front of a stadium full of fans on the pitch at half time.

Louie Waldock from London can be seen being mentored by Sasa Ihringova, one of the most senior female referees in the npower Football League, and completing a challenge set by her. As part of his mentoring session, Louie was given a one-to-one training session with Sasa before helping her to referee a real youth team game. The camers then followed Louie as he and his mentor arrive at Old Trafford to watch a play-off final where they are given access to the match officals’ briefing, something that has never been allowed before.

Luke Harris, a dedicated QPR fan from Kent, was mentored by the team’s manager, Neil Warnock, as he steered the team into the premiership at Loftus Road. Luke was also given access to the QPR training ground where he was invited to lunch with Neil and took the opportunity to grill him on what it’s like to be a ‘Marmite manager’.

Ollie Marden, also from Kent, spent time with Sky Sports’ David Jones. As part of his mentoring session, Ollie travelled to Portsmouth where he spent the day in an outside broadcast studio at Fratton Park, learning how to research facts and stats under the guidance of David before the game took place as well as writing and presenting his very own piece to camera.

The npower What’s Your Goal initiative was launched earlier this year to showcase the vast and varied careers found in Britain’s national sport and to encourage young people to start thinking about what their dream job would be.

Clare McDougall, npower’s head of education and community, said: “‘What’s Your Goal’ offered young people fantastic once-in-a-lifetime experiences that allowed them to get stuck in with the professionals and learn the ropes first hand, so we weren’t surprised by the overwhelming response we got from parents and their children across the UK.

“The TV show will help to spread npower’s What’s Your Goal message even further and we look forward to seeing npower’s What’s Your Goal winners as they make their TV debuts on screen, showing the world how ambitious and talented our teenagers are and hopefully encouraging others to start thinking about what their goal is.”

Via EPR Network
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Aggreko to Power Up and Cool Down Brazil’s Biggest Music Festival

Aggreko, the world leader in the provision of temporary power and temperature control services, has been awarded the contract to provide power and cooling services to Rock in Rio, one of the largest live music festivals in the world. The contract is with the event’s organizers, Dream Factory for the Rock in Rio site, Parque Olímpico Cidade do Rock, or the Olympic Park City of Rock, in Tijuca, south of Rio.

Aggreko will supply 11.5 MW of power – equivalent to the requirement of 11,000 households – which will support broadcasting facilities, sound and lighting. Aggreko will also design and install a 700-tonne cooling package, complete with temporary ducting, for the VIP, catering and press areas.

In 2010, Aggreko supplied power for the foundation stone ceremony which marked the start of work at Parque Olímpico Cidade do Rock, and so, 2011 will mark the second year that Aggreko has worked at the official venue where this year’s edition of Rock in Rio will be held.

“The success of a major event is directly related to the hiring of reliable suppliers,” commented Diogenes Paoli Neto, Managing Director, Aggreko South America. “An event of the caliber of Rock in Rio would be impossible without the guarantee of reliable power. Aggreko is proud to have been asked to contribute our expertise and our generator rentalservices to ensure that the festival is a success, both in Brazil and for viewers around the world.” he said.

Over the past 26 years, Rock in Rio has been a leading fixture on the international musical calendar. This year it takes place over eleven days, including over two long weekends (23rd – 25th September and 30th September – 2nd October) and it will be broadcast to 80 countries, with more than 600,000 people expected to attend.

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Aggreko Again Expands in Western Canada

Aggreko, the global leader in rental power, temperature control and oil-free compressed air solutions, is continuing its expansion in Canada with the opening of a larger service center in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Aggreko first established itself in Fort McMurray in 2009, and is now doubling the size of its local operations. The new 7,000 sq ft facility will host an expanded fleet of rental generators, a larger maintenance yard to better service equipment, and a growing staff of technicians, sales and service personnel.

“Aggreko has served the oil sands industry in Western Canada for more than 10 years and we are excited to root ourselves deeper in the Fort McMurray community,” said Dennis Haller, Vice President, Aggreko Canada. “Our oil and gas, refining and upgrading, and construction customers need partners with a local presence and the capability to provide superior, highly responsive service. We’re proud to expand our service center to meet their growing temporary equipment needs.”

Aggreko will supply the area with all the company’s major rental product lines, including:

• Power generators from 30 kW to 1,500 kW
• New natural gas generators, 65 kW and 1,300 kW
• Temperature-control equipment – chillers, cooling towers, air conditioners and electric heaters
• Oil-free air compressors, both diesel and electric
• Refinery-grade heat exchangers

In addition to expanding its personnel and generator rental fleet, Aggreko will provide customers with remote monitoring capabilities to improve their ability to troubleshoot any operational issue and optimize operating efficiency. The new depot will also provide engineering support from Aggreko Process Services (APS): an experienced process engineering team within Aggreko that helps customers improve their processes and operations to enhance bottom-line performance and address environmental concerns. Unique to the rental industry, the APS team can design and install projects at extremely short notice – and while customers await capital expenditure approval or the delivery of equipment.

“We see great value in being part of the Fort McMurray community and employing local people,” said Sue McGregor, Canada Sales Manager, Aggreko North America. “The increased demand for our services is led by the development in the oil sands, and we continue to explore ways to assist with more local expertise, new technology for remote construction sites, and innovative solutions to reduce emissions and maintenance downtime.”

Aggreko operates additional service centers in Edmonton, Fort St. John, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Sarnia.

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npower Football League Professionals Work Alongside Teens For ‘What’s Your Goal?’ Competition

Earlier in the year, npower offered every budding Alex Ferguson, potential Howard Webb and future Jeff Stelling a chance to bring their dreams to life with the ‘What’s Your Goal?’ competition.

From the high-pressure role of a football manager to the split-second timing of a pitch-side photographer, this was an opportunity for children yearning for a job in sports media to get first-hand experience of the industry.

The prizes took youngsters to the QPR training ground, inside the Sky Sports studios and even within touching distance of the players in the npower Championship Play-Off final at Wembley Stadium.

Among the professionals offering their advice were Queens Park Rangers manager, Neil Warnock and Sky Sports presenter, Dave Jones.

In this three-part series, the children demonstrate the desire and passion needed to cut it in one of the nation’s biggest industries.

And for those youngsters aiming for a similar career, heed the advice of 12-year-old Oliver Marden who, having won the chance to experience being a sports presenter, said: “You should try for everything and grasp every opportunity you can.”

npower is bringing back its What’s Your Goal initiative bigger and better than ever before for 2012. Any young people interested in getting involved should keep an eye out for updates on the npower What’s Your Goal website: www.npower.com/whatsyourgoal.

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npower Teams Up With Sky Sports To Launch Ad-Funded TV Show

npower’s new three part ad-funded TV series, ‘What’s Your Goal’, is set to launch on Sky Sports on Thursday 25th August – the culmination of npower’s successful 2011 campaign of the same name.

The series captures the moments that six children from around the UK discover they are handpicked as winners of the npower What’s Your Goal competition, to be mentored by some of the brightest and best in the football industry.

Viewers will follow the journeys of the young winners as they work side-by-side with their mentors, getting their hands dirty and mucking in with the professionals before being set a challenge relating to the day-to-day workings of the role.

Npower’s ‘What’s Your Goal’ is a football-based initiative launched as part of npower’s title sponsorship of the npower Football League. It was designed to inspire young people aged 12-16 to think about their future careers by showcasing the different roles available behind the scenes of football clubs up and down the UK.

Sky currently holds the broadcasting rights for the npower Football League and teamed up with npower, commissioning production company North One to capture the action. The shows are voiced by Sky presenter Ben Shepherd, who also features in the final episode which airs in September.

Along with Sky Sports presenter Dave Jones and long time Sky Sports TV producer Billy McGinty, the ‘What’s Your Goal’ winners also spend time with Ipswich Town’s business manager, an Action Images sports photographer and one of the npower Football League’s most senior female referees, Sasa Ihringova.

QPR’s manager, Neil Warnock also features in the series to mentor a young QPR fan who joins him and his team amidst talk of possible point deductions by the FA, when the future of QPR’s promotion into the Premier League looked uncertain.

Clare McDougall, npower’s head of education and community, said: “What’s Your Goal offered young people fantastic one-in-a-lifetime experiences that allowed them to get stuck in with the professionals and learn the ropes first hand, so we weren’t surprised by the overwhelming response we got from parents and their children across the UK.

“As not everyone could win the mentoring days, we worked with schools and parents to offer lesson plans and content that was designed to educate youngsters about the endless possibilities in the football industry, inspiring them to think about their future careers by looking at what they enjoy and thinking about potential opportunities.

“The TV show will help to spread npower’s What’s Your Goal message even further and we look forward to seeing npower’s ‘What’s Your Goal’ winners as they make their TV debuts on screen, showing the world how ambitious and talented our teenagers are and hopefully encouraging others to start thinking about what their goal is.”

Via EPR Network
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Npower Reports Over Half Of UK’s SMEs Failing To Realise Energy Cost Savings

Npower has revealed new research that shows over half of small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) have no measures in place to monitor energy efficiency, despite many of them seeking ways to manage the bottom line in tough economic conditions.

The findings from the latest npower Business Energy Index (nBEI) show that 53% of the 4.8 million* SMEs in the UK have no methods in place to manage business energy efficiency, and nearly one in five (18%) didn’t know if they had reduced their energy consumption over the past 12 months.

This is despite figures from the report showing that where energy efficiency is being measured, 50% of SMEs reported savings of up to 10%, showing there is huge scope to make significant business savings, while also reducing carbon emissions.

Statistics from the Carbon Trust also highlight the potential for SMEs to reduce emissions further. The Trust found that SMEs have a potential energy saving opportunity of up to 20%, compared to 8% for large businesses.

Patrick Harvey, head of customer loyalty at npower, said: “This year’s npower Business Energy Index found that for SMEs, the greatest driver for increasing energy efficiency is cost, rather than the environment. This is why it is surprising that so many are still not measuring the positive impact that implementing energy efficiency measures can have on their business.

“The results of the research show the huge untapped potential for SMEs to both reduce emissions and increase savings.”

However, encouragingly, overall the nBEI found that the importance SMEs place on energy management and efficiency is at its highest level since 2005. When asked to rate the significance of energy management to their business out of 10, SMEs gave an average score of 6.7, which is up from just over 5 when the Index began.

Coupled with this, many reported to be proactively measuring their energy usage and recognising the payback of low-cost, quick-win measures such as turning equipment off, which was ranked as the most popular action over the past six months. This was followed by regularly monitoring consumption and reducing heat loss.

Patrick Harvey continued: “It is really encouraging that energy efficiency is working its way up the business agenda but there’s still a long way to go.

“More businesses need to realise that through simple to implement and low or no cost measures, they can lower their bills by around 10%. In today’s tough operating environment this is a saving that SMEs can’t afford to over overlook. This is why we’ve developed SmartStart – a toolkit and advice service which helps SMEs get energy saving measures up and running and gets them saving on their bills quickly. Smaller businesses don’t have to rely on their landlords or have a big team in place to identify and implement energy saving measures.”

For more information on how npower can support SMEs reduce emissions and cut costs please visit www.npower.com/Business/SmartStart.

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npower and Robbie Savage Team Up to Break Record

npower has announced that, as part of its Club 72 initiative, former football player, Robbie Savage, will attempt to set the World Record for the most football league shirts worn at once.

Savage brought his playing career to an end last season but to celebrate the start of 2011/12 season, the Welshman has teamed up with the npower Club 72 initiative to wear a football shirt from every single football league club, and in doing so setting the record for most amount of npower football league shirts worn at one time.

In a league career spanning seventeen years, there’s not many team strips that Savage hasn’t encoutered before but with newly promoted AFC Wimbledon and Crawley Town both joining the league for the first time, there will be at least two shirts he won’t have seen before.

As well as donning the colours once again of some of his previous clubs such as Derby County and Leicester City, Savage will also model some real blasts from the past with Football League Shirts some fans would be pleased to forget..

On the record attempt, Savage said: “It seems quite an easy challenge at first glance but having seen photos of similar attempts I’m actually a little worried now.

“Throughout my playing career I was fortunate enough to weigh exactly the same in my final season at Derby as when I first started out with Crewe Alexandra – I certainly don’t think there is any room to be carrying any extra pounds for this challenge.

“The t-shirts’ collective weight will obviously put my shoulders and back under a lot of pressure and heat stroke is also something else to consider.

“Naturally I’m hugely proud of my playing career and this is a great way to end it. If I break the record, I expect that makes me the only player in the world to wear every single npower Football League team strip.”

The record attempt is to celebrate the launch of npower’s Club 72 initiative which will be an interactive platform for football supporters to chart their own performance throughout the season.

Launching to coincide with the start of the 2011/12 season, Club 72 will offer fans the chance to document their own performance in terms of attending football league games at npowerclub72.com. The site will allow fans to record the Football League stadiums they’ve been to and show how far they’ll go to follow the beautiful game. For every stadium visited, you’ll be awarded a virtual badge as well as bonus points for being a “lucky charm” (seeing three victories in a row) and reaching certain milestones such as “all Championship grounds visited”.

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