National Grid 2008 Annual Report Download - page 705

BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 27711
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: 178
Description: EXHIBIT 15.1
0/7374.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[E/O] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/374/7*
BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 27711
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: 178 Description: EXHIBIT 15.1
0/7374.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[E/O] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/374/7*
Table of Contents
186
Definitions and
g
lossar
y
of terms
National Grid plc
Definitions and glossary of terms
Our aim is to use plain English in this Annual Report and
Accounts. However, where necessary, we do use a number
of technical terms and/or abbreviations and we summarise
the principal ones below, together with an explanation of
their meanings. The descriptions below are not formal legal
definitions.
A
accounts
A set of financial statements, including all
the associated notes.
American
Depositary
Shares
(
ADSs
)
Securities of National Grid listed on the
New York Stock Exchange, each of which
represents five ordinary shares.
B
B shares
Non-cumulative preference shares of 10
pence nominal value each that were issued
in 2004 in connection with a £2 billion return
of capital to shareholders. The last
remaining B shares were converted into
ordinary shares in September 2007.
BETTA
The British Electricity Trading and
Transmission Arrangements, being the
regulations that govern our role as operator
of the electricity networks in Great Britain,
together with those of other market
participants.
Board
The Board of Directors of the Company (for
more information see pages 12 and 13).
BSIS
The Balancing Services Incentive Scheme,
an incentive arrangement applicable to our
UK electricity transmission operations.
C
consolidated
financial
statements
Financial statements that include the results
and financial position of the Company and
its subsidiaries together as if they are a
single entity.
called up
share ca
p
ital
Shares (common stock) that have been
issued and have been full
y
p
aid for.
capital
allowances
Depreciation or amortisation charges that
are allowed as deductions for tax purposes.
This often differs from the amount of
depreciation or amortisation recorded for
accounting purposes, resulting in the
recognition of deferred tax.
carrying
value
The amount at which an asset or a liability
is recorded in the balance sheet.
Combined
Code
The Combined Code on Corporate
Governance, being guidance on how
companies should be governed applicable
to UK listed companies, including National
Grid.
the Company,
National Grid,
we, our or us
We use terms ‘the Company’, ‘National
Grid’, ’we’, ‘our’ or ‘us’ to refer to either
National Grid plc itself or to National Grid
plc and its subsidiaries collectively,
depending on context.
contingent
liability
A possible obligation or potential liability
arising from past events for which no
provision has been recorded, but for which
disclosure in the financial statements is
made.
D
deferred tax
For most assets and liabilities, this is the
difference between the carrying value for
accounting purposes in the balance sheet
and the amount of tax that will be
deductible (or payable) for that asset or
liability in future tax returns.
decatherm
An amount of energy equal to 1 million
British thermal units (BTUs), equivalent to
approximately 293 kWh.
derivative
A financial instrument or other contract
where the value is linked to an underlyin
g
index, such as exchange rates, interest
rates or commodity prices. In most cases,
contracts for the sale or purchase of
commodities that are used to supply
customers or for our own needs are
excluded from this definition.
E
equity
In financial statements, the amount of net
assets attributable to shareholders.
F
FERC
The US Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
finance lease A lease where the asset is treated as if it
was owned for the period of the lease and
the obli
g
ation to pay future rentals is treated
as if they were borrowin
g
s. Also known as a
ca
p
ital lease.
financial year
For National Grid this is an accounting year
endin
g
on 31 March. Also known as a fiscal
year.
FRS
A UK Financial Reporting Standard as
issued by the UK Accounting Standards
Board. These apply to the Company’s
individual financial statements on pages
179 to 185, which are prepared in
accordance with UK GAAP.