Developing and upgrading Queensland's power network is a massive task...

Developing our distribution power network is a huge job requiring an in-depth knowledge of electrical engineering, rapidly changing technology and community expectations. Meet Andrew Meiklejohn, who is responsible for the team expanding and modernising a network that supplies power to more than 5,000,000 Queenslanders.

How did you get your start in the industry?

I started in the electricity industry as part of Energex’s Graduate Engineering Program and have been in the industry for over 23 years in engineering design, network and field operations roles.

What is a typical day at work??

Leading our design team, my day is a mixture of operational, business improvement and strategic matters that aim at delivering safe, constructable and efficient designs.?These meetings are normally with professionals from multidisciplinary backgrounds in engineering design and standards and can also include our HR and finance areas.?With participants from across our company’s geographic footprint from Cairns, to Toowoomba, to Burleigh Heads these meetings and workshops are typically in a video conferencing format.

What excites you about the future of energy??

I have often looked with admiration at what out predecessors have created as the electricity industry that brings to life the powering of homes, industries and communities.?So, with the rapidly changing energy industry where we have greater renewables and where customers are choosing how to supply their energy needs, I’m excited that our generation also get the opportunity to positively create and influence the future electricity industry.??

How has where you live and work influenced your thinking??

Design is a creative process and at the heart of this, from a satisfaction perspective, is helping people solve complex problems.?From the supply of electricity to the remote island and western Queensland communities to the electricity supply to our major city CBD’s, we are here to keep the lights on.?The acute relationship of electricity to the safe and economic prosperity of the state makes it really important and gives purpose to what we do to power communication, room cooling/heating, industries, mining operations, refrigeration, traffic lights and many more.

How are you supporting customers, communities, and industry in the energy transition??

As designers, we design in the future safety performance of the organisation for our team members, customers and communities.?This includes supporting safe and reliable outcomes for new designs of pole and ground mounted assets, like network batteries. The process of network design also must be considerate of the community it is to be constructed in. For example, designers have to balance the need to supply electricity efficiently and effectively while at the same time balancing the physical location and the environment where the assets are required.?

What would you say to anyone considering a career at Energy Queensland??

One of the largest interconnected assets in the world, the National Electricity Market, is undergoing rapid technological change including physical and digital assets and here at EQL we’re part of it. There are many critical roles in the engineering, standards, operations, and field that are growing to meet demand and to solve the exciting complex problems that we have now and those that will emerge into the future.?If this sounds exciting, please send in your CV to careers.