National Grid 2008 Annual Report Download - page 567

BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 13435
Name: NATIONAL GRID
Date: 17-JUN-2008 03:10:51.35Operator: BNY99999TPhone: [phone]Site: BOWNE OF NEW YORK
Y59930.SUB, DocName: EX-15.1, Doc: 16, Page: 48
Description: EXHIBIT 15.1
0/6244.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[E/O] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/244/6*
BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 13435
Name: NATIONAL GRID
Date: 17-JUN-2008 03:10:51.35Operator: BNY99999TPhone: [phone]Site: BOWNE OF NEW YORK
Y59930.SUB, DocName: EX-15.1, Doc: 16, Page: 48 Description: EXHIBIT 15.1
0/6244.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[E/O] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/244/6*
Table of Contents
56
Gas Distribution continued
National Grid plc
with responsibility for Gas Distribution. Activities such as
customer billing, human resources, property services,
accounting and financial transactions processing have been
transferred into the shared services organisation, and we
have started to implement common operating procedures
across the business.
One of the key benefits of the KeySpan acquisition is the
sharing of best practices. Six initiatives have already been
identified to improve the performance of our gas distribution
operations in both the UK and US. Standardising these
technologies should drive operating and financial
improvements. Ongoing programmes include the use of
keyhole technology, compaction supervisor, and the
implementation of active pressure control on low pressure
gas mains.
A number of new approaches have already been
implemented with tangible benefits. For example, advanced
excavation techniques employing a coring machine and
vacuum unit has allowed holes, on average one quarter the
size of conventional excavations. This technique also
improves the safety of the crew, limits traffic congestion, and
reduces the volume of material disposed of to landfill. This
technique was adopted from our US operations and is now
being utilised in the UK on gas leakage repairs.
Our compaction supervisor equipment, a disposable
monitoring pad placed at pipe depth levels, allows the
measuring of backfill compaction during reinstatement. Over
50 units have been purchased and deployed within the US.
This improves the efficiency of repairing roads and surfaces
by reducing the need for reworking following work on
underground gas pipes, thereby also reducing disruption to
the public.
Currently, the pressures in
g
as mains in the US are chan
g
ed
seasonally to meet expected customer demand, while in the
UK, an active control system is utilised, changing the
pressure in the gas mains automatically as customer
demand conditions require. This active control results in a
reduction of avera
g
e pressure in the mains, thereby reducin
g
natural gas escapes that impact climate change. This
approach is currently being deployed in test areas in the US.
Operating performance
Lost time injuries numbered 15 in the UK in 2007/08,
compared with 21 in 2006/07, equivalent to a lost time injury
frequency rate of 0.17 (2006/07: 0.16). In the US, lost time
injuries numbered 18 (excluding KeySpan), compared with
30 in 2006/07, both of which include Rhode Island. The lost
time injury frequency rate for 2007/08 in the US was 0.63 (no
comparison for 2006/07 due to changes in reporting lines).
In both the UK and US, we again exceeded our regulatory
agreed targets on safety-related standards as follows:
Safety
Our objective is to reduce employee lost time
injuries to zero.
Gas escapes Time Target Actual
UK
–
uncontrolled One hour 97% 98%
UK
–
controlled Two hours 97% 99%
U
p
state New York 30 minutes 75% 83%
45 minutes 90% 96%
60 minutes 95% 99%
Rhode Island 30 minutes 91% 95%
45 minutes 93% 97%
We will report on KeySpan safety performance from 1
April 2008 onwards.
In the UK, we have decommissioned approximately 1,850
kilometres of iron
g
as mains in 2007/08, exceedin
g
the tar
g
et
a
g
reed with the UK Health & Safety Executive for the second
consecutive year, which this year was 1,835 kilometres. We
decommissioned 1,850 kilometres in 2006/07 and 1,724
kilometres in 2005/06.
We have undertaken a number of internal process reviews to
advance the alignment of our operations with the aspiration
of removing duplication and waste.
Following the integration of KeySpan, we have consolidated
office locations within the US to centralise many activities.
An example of this is the closure of the Rhode Island gas
control centre and consolidation into Waltham, near Boston.
Within the UK we have improved the efficiency of our mains
replacement activities by tackling larger projects through
taking a zonal approach. We have also used technology,
such as vacuum excavation, transferred from the US, to
allow jobs to be completed more efficiently.
In the UK, actual gas consumption was 315 TWh compared
with 303 TWh in 2006/07 and 347 TWh in 2005/06. This was
equivalent to underlying levels of gas demand, excluding the
effects of weather, of 329 TWh in 2007/08 compared with
331 TWh in 2006/07 and 347 TWh in 2005/06.
In the US, gas consumption in upstate New York was 40
TWh (136 million decatherms) for 2007/08 and 11 TWh
(38 million decatherms) in Rhode Island. This was slightly
above the previous year due to colder temperatures and
increased usage among customers with dual fuel capability.
Gas consumption in the KeySpan service territory was 89
TWh (304 million decatherms) for 2007/08.
Over the year, we have achieved all our standards of service
set by Of
g
em that relate to our
g
as transportation services in
the UK. In the US there was a significant improvement in
reliability, in particular in the area of gas escapes. Workable
gas escape backlogs have been reduced by more than 20%
over the past year and all our operations are in regulatory
compliance.
In the UK, we have achieved all our connections standards
of service over the year, along with all other standards of
service set by Ofgem that relate to our gas transportation
services.
Efficiency
Our objective is to increase the efficiency of Gas
Distribution operations.
Reliability
Our objective is to meet regulatory targets and to
have zero loss of supply incidents.
Customer
service
In addition to meeting customer service objectives
agreed with our regulators, our objective is to be
within the upper quartile of customer satisfaction
in the territories we o
p
erate in.