Three top athletes visit EDF Energy’s Hunterston B power station

It’s not every week you have three top athletes paying you a visit but that’s exactly what has happened at EDF Energy’s Hunterston B power station as the staff celebrated the first anniversary of the on-site gym.

Amongst the three athletes was powerlifter Micky Yule who came fourth in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games earlier this year. The station also welcomed Sam Ingram, a British Paralympics Judo competitor who took part in the 2008 and 2012 summer Paralympics and Gemma Gibbons won a silver medal in the Judo at the 2012 London Olympic Games. The athletes are all sponsored by EDF Energy on their journey to Rio 2016.

All three have all been checking out the fitness suite at Hunterston B which is open 24 hours a day so it is available for those on shifts and has rowing machines, treadmills, exercise bikes and weights. The trio has also been giving employees an insight into their lifestyles and training regimes as well as tips on how exercise can reduce stress and improve overall well-being.

Former Royal Engineers Staff Sergeant Micky Yule was serving in Afghanistan in 2010 when he stepped on an IED during a routine patrol. Micky lost his left leg in the explosion and his right leg was later amputated. After a year in rehab he returned to the gym, set his sights on becoming a Paralympic powerlifter and has been competing for just 18 months. Micky said, “I am really impressed with the facilities at Hunterston B power station and it is great to see this on offer to all employees. I would encourage everyone here to join the gym if they haven’t already.”

Station director at Hunterston B, Colin Weir, said, “We were really pleased to have the three athletes on site and I know many employees had a good chat with them while they were here about how they can improve their fitness regime. They really are an inspiration to us all and we wish them all the best for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.”

Since it opened last year the gym at Hunterston B has seen 440 members of staff complete their inductions with just under 4000 visits.

For more information contact:

Lindsey Ingram
Media Officer - Scotland
01355 846283
07813 230379
Lindsey.Ingram@edf-energy.com

Notes to editors

Picture 1: Micky Yuke with Hunterston B's Stephen Robertson
Picture 2: Sam Ingram with Hunterston B Occupational Health Advisor John Miller and Gemma Gibbons

EDF Energy in Scotland

In Scotland EDF Energy operates Hunterston B in North Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian which employ over 1,000 staff and around 500 contracting partners across the two power stations. EDF Energy employs a further 200 office based staff in East Kilbride.  As well as generating enough power to serve some 4 million homes the company also provides gas and electricity to over 80,000 Scottish customers with around half of those opting for one of the company’s Blue+ products which are backed by low-carbon generation. We operate two windfarms in the Scottish Borders and make sure we buy enough electricity generated from a low-carbon nuclear source to match every unit of electricity we estimate our Blue customers use. EDF Energy is proud to power up some of the largest organisations in the UK, including supplying almost all public sector bodies in Scotland with after being awarded Scotland’s largest electricity supply contract by annual volume from April 2013. Following a landmark agreement with Network Rail the company also provides nuclear-backed Blue energy to power up the UKs electric rail network, covering most of the south east of England and the main lines from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as the Merseyrail network around Liverpool and the Glasgow suburban network.