Dr. Cathy McClay

Managing Director · National Grid DSO · company speakers →

Cathy McClay is Managing Director of National Grid DSO, where she leads the planning and operation of a smart, flexible distribution system that supports local customers and communities. With over 25 years in the electricity industry, Cathy has worked across the UK and Europe in roles spanning energy trading, strategy, and system operation. At National Grid System Operator, she led the opening up of ancillary service markets to new forms of flexibility, including batteries and demand-side response. She later led Trading and Optimisation at Sembcorp UK, managing a portfolio of flexible assets. Prior , Cathy was Director of Flexibility at ENOWA, the energy company of NEOM in Saudi Arabia, where she was responsible for ensuring that everything was in place to be able to balance and control the fully renewable energy system, including the design and implementation of the flexibility market. In addition, Cathy led the teams developing the physical flexible assets needed to balance the system, including a 2.1GW, 23 GWh pumped storage station in the desert. In December 2025, Cathy was appointed as the first Flexibility Commissioner for Great Britain.

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