About
A specialist, deliberately.
JB Substation Design is built around a single specialism: the electrical design of substations, from concept through to a detailed, coordinated package.
The engineer
Jack Ball
Jack has spent fifteen years designing and delivering substations, from 11kV distribution schemes through to 132kV, across both AIS and GIS technologies. That work spans four sides of the table — OEM, ICP, developer and consultancy — which means he understands not just how a substation is designed, but how it gets built, connected and paid for.
He began his career at ABB, progressing from an advanced apprenticeship to layout design and then to Technology Engineer, where he led switchgear product approvals, R&D and technical training, working directly with National Grid and Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks.
He then moved to an ICP as a primary engineer, leading the primary design on connection projects up to 132kV, before joining a battery storage developer to project manage grid-scale schemes from acquisition through to commissioning. Most recently he led cross-discipline engineering on substation projects for DNOs, IDNOs, ICPs and developers at a specialist design consultancy — experience he now brings to JB Substation Design.
Jack holds a BEng (Hons) in Electrical Engineering and is a member of the IET.
Why JB exists
Specialist capability, available when it is needed.
Substation design is a specialism. It sits awkwardly inside general electrical consultancies, and it is expensive for clients to carry in-house when the need is project by project.
JB was set up to make that capability available on a project basis — primary design, protection and control, cable design and the design management that holds them together.
JB is built to grow into a small specialist engineering practice. Today it is a specialist consultancy, and the work is presented as exactly that: no inflated claims, nothing dressed up to look bigger than it is.
Approach
How the work gets done.
Understand the engineering
Drawings and calculations are outputs. The engineering judgement behind them is the actual product, and it is what makes a design hold up under review.
Design something buildable
Technically correct is the minimum. Practical, installable and proportionate to the project is the standard — checked while changes are still cheap.
Agree the scope, then deliver it
Understanding what is actually required, and producing that. Not padding the package, and not discovering the real scope halfway through.
Work to your systems
Your templates, your numbering, your document control and your review process. If required, the package can arrive looking like it belongs in your project rather than like it came from outside.
Focus
What it is, and is not.
The focus is narrow on purpose. Where a project needs civil, structural or earthing study work, those are delivered through trusted partners and coordinated as part of the package.
What it is
- A specialist substation design consultancy
- Electrical design, 11kV to 132kV
- Concept, feasibility and detailed design
- Primary, P&C, cable and design management
What it is not
- A one-stop-shop engineering consultancy
- A civil or structural design practice
- A contractor, installer or commissioning body
- A supplier of plant or materials