I was delighted to meet with staff from Northern Powergrid this afternoon at their site in Penshaw. I was given a tour of the Control Room to see how they supply electricity to the North East. We also discussed the practical support they offer to vulnerable people when responding to incidents such as power cuts.

As well as providing over 2,500 jobs in our region, their apprentice programme trains around 75 new engineers each year.

Thanks to all the staff who showed me around and made this visit possible.