Nine finalists, including four from Suffolk, will compete in the final of the 2014 Energy Innovation Awards, being staged next month by the East of England Energy Group.

Each entrant will make a Dragons’ Den-type presentation to the judges, in front of a live audience, with the winners to be announced at a gala dinner later in the day.

Among the finalists is UK Power Networks, the regional electricity distribution company for East Anglia, London and the South East, which has a major base in Ipswich.

It is nominated for its Flexible Plug and Play development, a quicker and cost-cutting carbon saving method for connecting generators of various energy types to the electricity distribution network.

Lowestoft-based AKD Engineering has been selected as a finalist for its Personnel Transfer System, a safer and more adaptable concept for the transfer of technicians from workboats or crew transfer vessels to wind turbines in adverse weather.

Selex ES, which has a regional office in Lowestoft, is nominated for Gridkey, a low voltage lightweight monitoring device that electricity distribution companies can install within secondary substations to receive near real-time information on the status of their networks.

And SubC Partner, which has an office within the OrbisEnergy centre in Lowestoft, will be in contention with its FlexiCrane, an easily assembled device to reduce manual handling where tools or materials have to be lifted through narrow spaces or where room is limited.

Three Norfolk companies are also among the finalists, including Aker Solutions, from Great Yarmouth, Zaviour from Wymondham and James Fisher (Fendercare) from Seething, together with Equalizer International and W3G Marine, both based in Aberdeen.

EEEGR chief executive Simon Gray said he was delighted at the impressive line-up of finalists for the event, which had a track record of producing outstanding entries and winners.

Last year’s winner Marine Power Systems (MPS) from Swansea with its WaveSub prototype which harnesses wave energy and can automatically adjust to optimum depth or protect itself by dropping safely below stormy seas.

“The success came at a vital time for us towards the end of last year,” said MPS managing director Gareth Stockman. “We started our investment campaign this March following the successful test phase and were hugely successful in securing half of the investment target and substantial grant funding within two months.

“The EEEGR award not only showcased our innovation but gave us further credibility in raising investor confidence.”

The awards final and ceremony will take place at Norwich City Football Club’s Top of the Terrace venue on July 2, with David McNally, the club’s chief executive, as guest speaker at the dinner. As well as winner and runner-up prizes, there will be a special low carbon innovation award.

For more information or to book places at the gala dinner, visit www.eeegr.com or call 01493 446535.