Our approach to stakeholder management includes coordinated activity ensuring appropriate engagement with the European Union, UK Government and Parliament, US Federal and State authorities and legislators and devolved assemblies.
As a result of our position in, and importance to, the economies we serve, our electricity and gas transmission and distribution businesses are subject to UK, European Union and US federal and state laws and regulations. We have multiple regulators, each of which exercises power over how we operate within their respective jurisdictions.
In the UK, energy networks are regulated by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). Ofgem operates under the direction and governance of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority and has established price control mechanisms that restrict the amount of revenue that can be earned by regulated businesses, typically covering five year price control periods.
In the US, public utilities are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and by utility commissions in the states in which we operate, comprising the New York Public Service Commission, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission and the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. These US regulators set service standards and determine allowable levels of return. FERC also regulates public utility holding companies, including mergers and acquisitions of public utilities.
Our businesses are also subject to safety legislation in the UK and the US, which is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the UK and by federal safety bodies and by state and local authorities in the US. Our UK gas operations work under a permissioning regime, whereby our organisation, processes and procedures are documented in safety cases that are subject to acceptance by the HSE.
Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, and we also have a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. As a consequence, we are regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK and by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
More information on the regulatory environment in which we operate is provided in our Annual Report and Accounts.