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Welcome to Nicola Garland! 5 Questions to find out more about Moorhouse’s new Client Director
We’re delighted to welcome Nicola Garland to Moorhouse. Nicola joins our Energy & Utilities team as a Client Director.
With a background in Law and Political Science, Nicola’s career began in environmental policy in the Resources sector in Queensland, Australia. In the UK, she realised her passion for implementing change, particularly in the Energy & Utilities sector. Since her move to the UK in 2016, Nicola has been part of some incredible industry transformation programmes, culminating in the Switching Programme at Ofgem (the UK gas and electricity regulator), where she worked collaboratively with industry on delivering change for consumers.
At Moorhouse, she will help drive industry change to support sustainability and the fair transition to Net Zero for existing and future consumers. In her role, she will support Moorhouse’s clients and develop the Energy & Utilities sector.
We interviewed Nicola to find out more about her background and what attracted her to Moorhouse.
Can you tell us a bit more about your role as Head of the Switching Programme at Ofgem?
As Head of the Switching Programme, I was responsible for the delivery of a £1 billion benefits case, aimed at delivering faster and more reliable switching for energy consumers. The Programme delivered some of the most significant reforms to the UK energy industry, by transforming the energy industry systems from slow 20th century batch processes to modern cloud-based IT infrastructure to support flexibility, innovation and change. This required ensuring that over 100+ organisations, ranging from energy suppliers, to network operators and industry central parties, were ready to go live with the central programme, which we successfully did in July 2022.
What attracted you to join Moorhouse and leave the public sector?
I am really proud of my time as a Civil Servant, and I remain in awe of the passionate and driven people working there. However, I believe that diversity of experience is a great asset, as it challenges the way that you think, and brings fresh perspectives to an organisation. Moorhouse stood out for its incredible culture, and its growth in the Energy & Utilities sector, particularly through their work on critical industry programmes like Half Hourly Settlement and on sustainability.
What got you into Energy in the first place? What excites you about the future of the Energy industry?
My dad is a coal miner, and I grew up watching how proud he was of delivering energy to keep people’s houses warm and the lights on. Working on environmental policy in Australia, I became really passionate about being part of the sustainable transition to Net Zero, and how the energy market globally tackles these challenges. So, what got me into the industry is what excites me about the future, being part of the change and supporting organisations and the market to transition to Net Zero, whilst ensuring that we keep the lights on for consumers, particularly at times like this when so many people are facing incredibly difficult challenges around the cost of energy.
What areas are you excited to develop at Moorhouse?
I’m excited to leverage the incredible experience and capabilities that Moorhouse has, from programmes like Half Hourly Settlement and my experience on other industry transformation programmes, to support our Energy & Utilities clients. I’m also really excited about working with the fantastic team at Moorhouse, I have been blown away by the energy and passion of the team, and I can’t wait to get stuck in.
Originally from Australia, what do you wish you could have brought over with you?
The obvious answer is the weather, but after the pandemic the honest answer is my friends and family, many of whom I didn’t get to see for a number of years.
On Nicola’s new role, Jason Byrne, Moorhouse Energy & Utilities Partner said:
It’s fantastic to have Nic join our thriving Energy and Utilities team. We are on a journey to drive industry change that enables fair transition to Net Zero for existing and future consumers. Nic’s strong experience further strengthens our regulatory and market insight, coupled with an ability to drive complex transformation from generation through distribution to retail. It’s great to have her with us.
