Director of Infrastructure and Network Evolution

He joined as a senior project manager working in Network infrastructure connectivity before the first smart meter was installed and is now our Director of Network Infrastructure Evolution.

"I wanted to contribute my technology skills and support an industry which actually has the potential to contribute to the green economy.

The DCC network requires constant evolution to keep pace with wider technological change in order to be effective and efficient for taxpayers. Mannu’s role is as much about solving tomorrow’s challenges as today’s. He and his team are responsible for considering how the DCC network and Platform can be improved by harnessing the latest technology and what improvements can be made to ensure the network is consistently staying up to date.

"Every decade, the technology changes across the market so you have new use cases and new business needs.

"My team’s role is to strategically look at and do the technology horizon-scanning to sustain the DCC solution further for the next 5, 10, 15 years.”

Day-to-day, Mannu manages ongoing technology projects and programmes that make DCC tick. He helps establish the strategic direction for teams involved, ensures they have the processes and governance to succeed and upskills them as they adopt the new technologies necessary to keep the DCC Platform on track to build new digital energy infrastructure.

He’s also actively involved in technology procurement strategy, identifying suppliers and defining the most effective strategies for updating the nationwide DCC platform and connectivity For example, Mannu and his team are currently determining what the future of the network’s  connectivity and data orchestration engine, the system that sends messages from energy companies to metre point locations, will look like.

“I'm responsible from the technology strategy side of setting up the direction data system platform. It requires a lot of new things because it's also key for how DCC transition to a much more cost-effective cloud solution, which is secure as well.”

Another important part of his role is dealing with DCC’s varied stakeholders. That means breaking down complex technological propositions for audiences who aren’t technologists, including civil servants, regulators and energy suppliers.

“How do you take them on the journey of making the technology changes? You need to be able to simplify the way you communicate and say why we need to do this, what the reason is and what benefits they will get because they will be paying for that.”

And for Mannu, communication has been central to the impact he and DCC is able to have. He joined looking to play his part in green revolution, and the power of his role comes from helping customers understand their energy use today and tomorrow. 

"The future isn’t just about relying on governments, it’s about all of our behaviour.

"I think we’re giving more decisions to the consumer through the smart metering and my work empowers consumers who can say ‘okay, it's my choice, how do I use it? Where do I use my energy?’”

And seeing the impact of his work is what keeps him pushing for more change. Mannu suspects that anyone motivated by that impact will find a home at DCC.

“If there are individuals who are passionate about contributing to the green economy and digitising the public network then DCC is the right fit. You will leave a legacy of your work, which actually has an impact and not many organisations offer that.”