Eclipse Power expands its expertise to enhance customer experience and continue business growth

New appointments focus expertise from across the energy system to give customers fewer handovers, clearer answers and a more joined-up route to connection 

London, UK, 15 July 2026: Eclipse Power, the independent distribution network operator (IDNO) backed by the Octopus Sky Fund, has strengthened its team to help customers get complex projects connected more easily. The new team supports the group’s plans for UK growth, expansion into Europe, and a renewed ambition to operate at transmission level.

The refocusing of the business follows the December 2025 acquisition of Vattenfall Networks, and the appointment of Emma Ford as chief executive in January 2026. Ford joined from Ørsted, where she was vice president and head of generation for UK West. She previously spent almost eight years at National Grid in roles working at both transmission and distribution, leading the construction and operation of assets.

Strengthening the senior team, Hayley Burden joins as the new managing director of networks. Hayley comes from the offshore wind sector, and previously spent 12 years at National Grid in senior roles across electricity transmission and distribution. Laura Henry has been appointed as director of regulation, policy and external affairs, joining from National Grid, where she was head of connections policy. Their combined experience will help customers move through the connections process more quickly and with fewer surprises, drawing on first-hand knowledge of how the networks and the rules actually work.

Joining to lead as MD of Eclipse’s grid consultancy, Graeme Hutchison brings nearly 20 years' consultancy experience across regulated and unregulated networks, generation and transmission. He joins from GHD, and has advised regulators, utilities and investors across Europe, the Middle East and Asia – expertise that supports the group's consultancy offer and its growing ambitions beyond the UK.

Internal promotions also reflect the pace of change. Ben Croxford, who has held a succession of senior roles at Eclipse since 2023, becomes director of safety and chief operating officer. With more than a decade in network operations and safety at gas distributor SGN, Ben leads the focus on safe, reliable delivery that customers depend on through the life of their connection. 

"What matters most is what this means for our customers," said Emma Ford, chief executive. "We’ve brought together people who’ve worked across every part of the energy system, so the teams our customers rely on can draw on the expertise to keep projects moving. As we grow, we’re holding on to the things that got Eclipse here – the engineering, the operational and asset management excellence, and the customer service at our core – and adding even more experience behind them. It’s the same Eclipse approach: one team, working alongside you from the first conversation through to connection."

Suzanna Lashford, who joined Eclipse from Vattenfall Networks following the acquisition, and has since been appointed director of sales, customer and marketing, said: "Our customers tell us that uncertainty and complexity are the hardest aspects of energising their projects. Bringing this experience together under one roof means we can sit down with a customer early, work through the options, and stay with them all the way to energisation. That simplifies and speeds up their builds – this team helps us make that difference for more customers, more often."

Together, the expanded team strengthens Eclipse’s ability to support customers across the full lifecycle of a project – from early-stage advice through to connection, ownership and optimisation – as the group grows in the UK and explores opportunities further afield in Europe.

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Editors notes

Eclipse Power simplifies electricity connections, delivering network solutions across the full infrastructure lifecycle – from planning and grid connection through to ownership, operation and optimisation. Through its Ofgem-licensed Independent Distribution Network Operator (IDNO), grid consultancy, and private network and microgrid services, the company supports residential, commercial, industrial and renewable energy projects – including data centres, ports, EV charging infrastructure and battery storage. Eclipse Power focuses on reducing connection complexity and timelines in an increasingly constrained grid environment, helping projects connect sooner and more cost-effectively. www.eclipsepower.co.uk