Our vision
We, at National Grid, will be the foremost international electricity and gas company, delivering unparalleled safety, reliability and efficiency, vital to the well-being of our customers and communities.
We are committed to being an innovative leader in energy management and to safeguarding our global environment for future generations.
Our strategy
We will build on our core UK and US, electricity and gas, regulated business base and financial discipline to deliver sustainable growth and superior financial performance.
Flooding, due to frequent stormy weather conditions, poses a real threat to our substations and equipment. Electricity transmission engineers have been testing mobile flood defence systems in the UK that will soon be the blueprint for future deployment plans. The systems, each comprising two trailers, can transport flood defence barriers to sites in crisis.
The New England East-West Solution (NEEWS) is a large scale regional transmission project that will see National Grid invest $634 million (£440 million) in New England as a partner in a broader $2.1 billion (£1.5 billion) plan. NEEWS is set to address reliability problems and enhance the New England transmission system in three states. Due to the project’s scale and complexity, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted us several incentives on our investment under their policies to encourage transmission owners to invest in the system.
We are looking at ways to incorporate renewable energy into the existing energy mix. In Massachusetts, under the Green Communities Act, we are planning to develop and own up to 50 MW of solar generating facilities. Our modernised electricity network pilot, or smart grid, is capable of combining renewables and smart metering to save energy and increase reliability. In the UK, we are exploring emerging biogas technologies where biodegradable waste streams could be turned into biogas and injected into the gas distribution system.
Grain LNG, the largest LNG facility in the UK and the US, will play a major role in providing energy security and diversity of supply in the UK. Commercial operation of the newly expanded terminal (phase II) was completed in December 2008. Further expansion is under way and is expected to be completed by 2010 with a £300 million planned investment for phase III. Grain has a storage capacity of 960,000 standard cubic metres and the goal is for it to become a zero waste facility by 2012.
Our construction programme for substations and transmission lines in the US is set to increase rapidly over the next three years. We are adopting new ways of working based on developing longterm relationships with suppliers, which build on our experience of developing alliances in the UK. This change to our operating model will address our long-term resource needs, deliver improved and cost effective reliability for our customers and good returns for our shareholders. In addition, these long-term relationships with suppliers will enhance our ability to deliver complex programmes in a safe and environmentally responsible way.
Our annual employee survey helps us learn employees’ views on National Grid. We had a very positive response rate of 91.8% in 2009 and we are committed to acting on the results. For example, in past surveys, employees said they did not understand the Company direction and how they made a difference. Line of sight will help to make this clear by showing how what we do every day connects directly to our Company vision, strategy and objectives.
A skilled workforce is critical to any company’s success and we are committed to developing the talent and leadership skills of all our employees. For instance, our two new leading edge skills development centres in Hollinwood and Hitchin in the UK provide scenario based training courses. The £5.5 million ($8.5 million) centres, along with an existing one at Eakring, aim to set industry leading safety and competence standards for apprentices, new recruits and existing employees in all lines of business.
As part of our new brand strategy, an interactive website was created using a virtual polar bear named Floe designed to inspire people to make a difference in the way they use energy by helping them to understand the impact of their energy choices on climate change. To date, visitors to the US website have pledged to save more than 64 million pounds (29,000 tonnes) of carbon – the equivalent of removing more than 5,200 cars each doing 12,000 miles a year from US roads. Since the US brand campaign launch, National Grid’s brand recognition among residential customers has risen to 90%. Similarly, unaided awareness increased 22% in one year.
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