Laura Sandys and Jonson Cox are among the sector grandees to be included in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.
Sandys and Cox, the chairs of the Energy Data Taskforce and Ofwat respectively, both received CBEs.
Sandys said: “It is an extraordinary honour to receive a CBE however it is never one person who deserves recognition. I would like to show my admiration for the Energy Systems Catapult, in particular Dr Richard Dobson who led on the Energy System Data Taskforce, and Dr Jeff Hardy of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College who worked together on Transforming Energy Regulation Programme.
“This huge privilege is actually a recognition that unlocking data and energy digitalisation will make an important contribution to the energy transformation that we need to make to achieve net zero.”
Meanwhile, Cox told Utility Week: “I’m delighted and it’s a recognition of the support of our fabulous board, leadership and colleagues at Ofwat.”
Other familiar names on the Honours list include Committee on Climate Change’s former chief economist Adrian Gault and the Energy Saving Trust’s chief executive Philip Sellwood, who both received CBEs.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, has been awarded a DBE for services to the public and voluntary sector. Meanwhile, Renewable Energy Assurance Limited’s chief executive Virginia Graham receives an OBE for promoting renewable energy and SP Energy Networks’ future networks manager, Professor James Yu has been given an MBE for services to the electricity supply industry and innovation.
Colette Cohen, chief executive of the Oil and Gas Technology Centre, has been awarded an OBE for services to the UK oil and gas industry and to government collaboration, while Peter Betts, the former director International Climate and Energy, at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy gets a CBE for services to international climate
Energy UK’s special advisor Barbara Vest, who recently sat on the government’s Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage Cost Challenge Task Force and chairs the National Grid Joint European Stakeholder Group, is also honoured with an OBE.