National Grid 2009 Annual Report Download - page 13

01 Business Overview
11National Grid plc Annual Review 2008/09
Safety and reliability in adversity:
New England December ice storm
The communities we serve depend on us for a constant
supply of gas and electricity. This is especially true in adverse
conditions, such as the severe ice storm that affected our service
territory in upstate New York and New England this winter.
Over the course of 8 days in late December, more than 7,400
workers, including forestry crews, mutual aid workers, contractors
and support staff across all lines of business, worked around the
clock to restore electricity to more than 550,000 customers. States
of emergency were declared in Massachusetts, New York and New
Hampshire in what has since been called the most significant ice
event to hit the northeast US in a decade.
Employees battled against unrelenting elements as ice in excess
of an inch (25mm) thick, heavy winds, and falling trees downed
lines making work very challenging. Despite this, the restoration
was completed within a matter of days.
Even after the last customer’s power was restored, our interest and
involvement continued as employees donated $230,000 (£149,000)
to the American Red Cross to support its relief efforts in those
storm ravaged areas.
The sheer enormity of the storm was matched only by the
scope of work performed by our employees to safely restore
power to affected homes and businesses:
550,000 customers interrupted at peak;
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1,252 miles (2,014 kilometres) of transmission lines out
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of service;
911,370 feet (277,785 metres) of distribution wire damaged;
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285,834 storm related phone calls handled; and, most
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importantly,
injuries sustained were minor in relation to the scope
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of the storm.
The level of dedication and professionalism displayed by our
employees clearly demonstrated ‘the power of action’. Their
efforts were well received by both members of the public and
public officials in New England and New York as expressions
of thanks and appreciation poured in.
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.
Delivering strong, sustainable regulatory
and long-term contracts with good returns
Modernising and extending our
transmission and distribution networks