<strong>Team size: </strong> 5  

<strong>What are the most significant cases and/or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in? </strong> 

I lead the provision of legal support for Drax’s Procurement, Property, Regulatory and Compliance, Treasury, Commodity Trading, FX Trading, Generation, Ancillary Services and Health and Safety teams. 

In the past 12 months my sub team has worked to develop a new business division to operate third party battery assets, including developing new precedents, designing regulatory guardrails, negotiating long term tolling agreements for 450MW of capacity and sitting on the Steerco to integrate new assets. The team also led a project to develop a datacentre at Drax Power Station, which could, if successful, be the largest of its kind in the UK. This has involved engaging with Government, advising on regulatory challenges, negotiating with prospective customers and managing the planning process. They also led high yield bond and syndicated loan transactions to raise £600m and have been advising on health and safety risks across the Drax business, including dealing with the prosecution of a subsidiary by the HSE. 

<strong>What do you see as an opportunity or risk over the next six months? </strong> 

Having secured a CFD for operations at Drax Power Station through to 2031, we have approximately £3bn of free cash flow. We therefore have an opportunity to deploy this capital and reshape the business going forward, through investments in data centre projects, growing our commercial offering and expanding our fleet of flexible generation assets to deliver long term value. The challenge for the business and the legal team is ensuring this capital is deployed in a compliant and sustainable way. 

<strong>What are some of the main trends impacting your industry sector specifically? </strong> 

The UK energy system is undergoing a structural shift driven by rapidly increasing electricity demand from AI, data centres and electrified manufacturing. At the same time the generation mix is becoming progressively more reliant on intermittent renewables, which increases grid volatility and balancing and system balancing requirements. This combination creates significant opportunities for generators (like Drax) who can offer flexible, dispatchable generation and grid balancing services. 

However, these opportunities come amid a complex landscape of geopolitical tensions, economic and trade uncertainty, and higher borrowing costs, which creates challenges in capturing these opportunities. 

<strong>What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess? </strong> 

My team supports a wide range of business units, from Generation and HSE to Treasury and commodity trading. Each area has its own risk, opportunities and commercial backdrop. It is therefore essential that my team is able to be agile and to move between practice areas with confidence and common sense. 

Similarly, we work with a range of colleagues and stakeholders, from C Suite and senior management to operational staff and junior colleagues, each with their own style and demands. My in-house counsel need to be able to adapt to different working styles and build trusted relationships across the business.