Our Vision

As part of our major capital investment projects, this year saw the completion of a 316 kilometre gas pipeline in south Wales and south west England, capable of delivering 20% of the UK’s gas requirements.

While the project clearly demonstrated our engineering expertise, it was characterised by the sensitive way it was constructed. The route passes through the Brecon Beacons National Park and we made considerable efforts to keep our impact to a minimum. Independent environmentalists and archaeologists were members of the project team, and a Roman road and a 3,400 year old canoe discovered during the build have both now been preserved. We have engaged in a 10 year aftercare programme to ensure the route is fully restored, while installing measures to safeguard protected species such as otters and dormice. We received letters from members of the public and Members of Parliament praising the quality of our workmanship and of the reinstatement.

We received letters of praise for the way we constructed the pipeline.

Being able to rely on a constant supply of gas and electricity is critical to society and we work hard on our reliability. This year especially, with widespread flooding in the UK, we have also had to battle against severe weather conditions.

In south west England, our engineers worked closely with representatives from the Army, Royal Navy and emergency services to build up flood defences with sandbags and barriers and to pump out water, protecting one of our substations from the rising water and maintaining power supplies to the region. In north west England, one of our technicians crossed a flooded road to deliver insulin to a diabetic child trapped in a nursery. Another was approached by a lady concerned about her husband who was receiving dialysis. The area’s power supply had been lost due to the rising water, so he used his van’s onboard electricity to power the dialysis machine. The professionalism and personal commitment of our employees was recognised when six received MBEs in the Queen’s Honours list for their services over the period. This echoed the thanks and praise we received from members of the public and UK government officials.

Emergency work to make safe a gas main exposed by severe flooding.

We are committed to being an innovative leader in energy management and we have been running energy efficiency programmes for over 20 years for our US customers.

These programmes incentivise us to help all sizes of homes and businesses become more energy efficient by installing new technology, such as lighting systems and heating, ventilation & air conditioning systems. This saves energy and money for the end consumer, benefiting both them and the environment. Since 1987 these programmes have reduced electrical energy consumption by over 29 billion kilowatt hours and gas consumption by 264 million therms, equating to a saving of 17.7 million tonnes of CO₂. Or to put it another way, enough energy to heat water for 200 cups of coffee for everyone living in the world. We have been named among the best by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, and received recognition from a number of state governors.

Three of the 1,332 billion cups worth of energy we’ve saved.

We are committed to safeguarding our global environment for future generations and are dedicated to reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions.

We are following a number of initiatives to reduce our emissions, including:

continuing our 30 year UK programme to replace old iron gas distribution mains with polyethylene pipes to reduce methane leakage;

looking at installing electricity generation equipment at some of our pressure reduction installations to recover some of the energy lost through gas pressure reduction;

changing our gas transmission compressor sites to run more cleanly;

continuing to reduce the leakage of sulphur hexaflouride (SF₆)from our electrical switchgear;

addressing the emissions of our newly acquired generation facilities on Long Island; and

remaining focused on reducing our own emissions well ahead of government targets, through initiatives such as setting internal carbon budgets.

Reducing emissions by replacing old gas pipes.

We are developing new technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of our own business and the industry and reduce our impact on the environment.

In New York, we have worked in conjunction with other parties to build and operate a super conducting cable, capable of supplying up to five times more power than a conventional cable. The cable is cooled to -200°C by channelling liquid nitrogen through its core. At this temperature the cable becomes super conductive and no longer suffers from the energy losses typical of electricity transmission.

We are participating in an ongoing collaborative project evaluating the prospects of using biodegradable oils in power transformers. The project is investigating the extent to which existing transformer designs would need to be modified, as well as considering the use of biodegradable oils to retro-fill existing units. As well as environmental benefits, biodegradable oils are also safer as they are fire resistant.

The new cable is capable of carrying up to five times more power than a normal cable.

There is a culture of volunteering within our business. We are proud of the role that our employees play in their local communities and support this through matched giving and other programmes.

We have become the first official partner of Special Olympics Great Britain. The Special Olympics programme provides year-round sporting opportunities for people with learning disabilities, through locally organised training and events and a series of national and international competitions. Over 400 of our employees have volunteered their time to help at these events. Each year, our US employees organise a United Way campaign to benefit the underprivileged communities throughout our service territories. Money is collected through employee payroll deductions, retiree donations and various fundraising activities, much of it matched by the Company. This year, we raised over $3.5 million (£1.7 million). A group known as the Lamplighters regularly donate their time and effort to help the poor and hungry of Long Island. Working mainly at lunchtimes and after work, the group rescue safe but unsaleable food from retailers and deliver it to the needy. To date, over 77,000 meals have been distributed.

We are delighted to be the first official partners to Special Olympics Great Britain