National Grid 2014 Annual Report Download - page 40

Grain LNG
Grain LNG is one of three LNG importation facilities
in the UK. It was constructed in three phases,
becoming operational in 2005, 2008 and 2010
respectively. It operates under long-term contracts
with customers and provides importation services,
storage and send out capacity on to the national
transmission system. We are exploring with
customers a number of developments to the Grain
site to enhance its revenue earning capability.
Interconnectors
The England-France interconnector is a 2,000 MW
HVDC link between the French and British
transmission systems with ownership shared
between National Grid and Réseau de Transport
d’Electricité (RTE). The interconnector is
approximately 70 kilometres (43miles) in length,
with45 kilometres (27 miles) of subsea cable.
Following a significant valve replacement
programme, the availability of the interconnector
continues to show marked improvement and the
2013/14 average was at 83.84%. A substantial
proportion of the flow continues to be in the import
direction, from France to Great Britain.
BritNed is a joint venture between National Grid and
TenneT, the Dutch transmission system operator.
Itbuilt, and now owns and operates a 1,000 MW
subsea electricity link between the UK and the
Netherlands, which is approximately 260 kilometres
(162 miles) in length. BritNed, which entered
commercial operations on 1 April 2011, is a
merchant interconnector that sells its capacity via
arange of explicit and implicit auction products.
Metering
National Grid Metering (NGM) provides installation
and maintenance services to energy suppliers in the
regulated market in Great Britain. It maintains an
asset base of around 15 million domestic, industrial
and commercial meters.
Through Ofgem’s Review of Metering Arrangements,
National Grid has been appointed National Metering
Manager (NMM) to facilitate the transition to smart
metering in the domestic sector. To support this,
NGM has also undertaken a pricing consultation to
define the tariff caps to apply to traditional domestic
gas metering. This took effect on 1 April 2014
andwill last until the end of the transition to
smartmetering.
In addition, NGM has been further developing its
contracts and services in the industrial and
commercial market.
NGM has achieved its highest customer satisfaction
scores for the last six years for both its Domestic
and Industrial & Commercial businesses.
UK Property
National Grid Property is responsible in the UK for
the management, clean-up and disposal of surplus
sites, most of which are former gas works. During
2013/14 we have sold 45 sites, exchanged on
several high-profile land disposal agreements with
JV partners and embarked on a new programme
ofholder demolitions. We have been embedding
ourestate management outsourcing agreement
withCapita and our new tender framework for the
clean-up of contaminated land is progressing well.
Xoserve
Xoserve delivers transactional services on behalf of
all the major gas network transportation companies
in Great Britain, including National Grid. Xoserve
isjointly owned by National Grid, as majority
shareholder, and the other gas distribution
networkcompanies.
US non-regulated businesses
Some of our US businesses are not subject to state
or federal rate-making authority. These include
interests in some of our LNG road transportation,
some gas transmission pipelines and certain
commercial services relating to solar installations,
fuel cells and other new technologies.
Corporate activities
Corporate activities comprise central overheads,
Group insurance and expenditure incurred on
business development.
Across the UK, National
Grid is bringing its
redundant land back to
lifeso it can be used in
newways. Our former
gasholder site in Battersea,
South West London, will
make way fora large
residential development,
helping to meet London’s
demand for new housing.
This wall chart in our
European Business
Development office shows
current, planned and
potential interconnectors
between the UK,
continental Europe
andScandinavia.
Principal operations
continued
Other activities
3%
Other activities
adjusted operating
profit of Group total
38 National Grid Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14