Powercor is delighted to announce a collaboration with Surrey-based STEM charity SATRO for the 2022 SATRO Energy Saving Challenge– an opportunity to put students at the heart of sustainability thinking and explore ways to reduce their school’s carbon footprint.

The challenge will task school children in years three to six to, design, develop and implement ideas that reduce electricity usage in their schools. This year’s challenge will see twelve primary schools based in the South East take part in the six-month contest, with the winners announced at a ceremony in June 2022. 

Central to the Energy Saving Challenge will be Powercor’s automated metering and targeting (AM&T) units that will be installed free of charge at each school. The units deliver the capability to monitor energy use and produce detailed data charts and graphs that the children can review as part of their programme. As each energy-saving strategy is implemented, students can see how they affect the energy usage in their school.

Powercor’s Technical Director, Chris Wright, said: “Our participation in the competition is designed to open the eyes of students to the way they can play a part in sustainability and energy reduction. We also hope it will inspire students to seek a career in STEM.”

“Working with SATRO enables us to play a part in educating children about how energy can be saved through behaviour change and how different types of lighting and electrical installations make a difference,” he continued. “The students are often surprised how small actions can lead to significant savings in their school’s energy costs.”

Through its new education sustainability brand, Energycation, Powercor is keen to help the education sector understand energy efficiency and play a part in encouraging young people to explore a STEM future. As part of those efforts, Powercor is supporting and attending SATROfest in March where they will be explaining to students the role of electrical engineers. 

The Energy Saving Challenge will see SATRO support each school as they go through the process of understanding their energy usage and how to assess the impact of any changes made. The challenge will help students understand how they can be more energy conscious and make real savings to energy bills. Any savings can be reinvested in the school, including equipment to further enhance sustainability.

Powercor will provide advice and information to schools that are keen to explore how they can reduce not only their energy bills but also their carbon footprint and further boost their sustainability journey. 

As a leading provider of energy solutions to schools and educational establishments across the UK, Powercor believes the competition to be a perfect fit with its major educational programme, Energycation, which will provide tangible support to schools around the issues of sustainability and energy efficiency. 

As the move to net zero and the drive for greater ESG increases within the education system, Energycation has been designed to become a leading sustainability brand for school management, teachers, and pupils alike.