Delivering energy safely

We believe that safety is paramount and that all work-related injuries and illnesses are preventable. The Board and Executive Committee receive a monthly report on the safety performance of the businesses in the Group. This report also highlights any emerging issues or trends where executive action may be required.

We believe a healthy workforce is an important factor in being a productive and competitive business. We have reviewed our approaches to occupational health with a view to ensuring support is available to employees on a local basis. Every six months, the Board Risk & Responsibility Committee reviews our performance in reducing work-related illnesses.

During 2003/04, we completed safety leadership training for our Executive Directors, a number of Non-executive Directors and our senior management team. This training is now being cascaded throughout the Group. We have published a Group-wide safety vision, reinforcing our commitments to deliver our goal of zero injuries and create a culture where everyone is able to challenge constructively unsafe behaviours wherever they occur. We have continued the review of safety management systems across our operations through Group-level audits of Gridcom, Fulcrum Connections, Metering and the Isle of Grain liquefied natural gas operations.

Over the last year, the rate of injuries resulting in lost time has decreased across the majority of the Group’s businesses, the exception being an increase in our US Distribution operations.

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While the number of lost time injuries reduced by 13% compared with 2002/03, 254 of our employees were involved in work-related incidents which led to them taking time off work. We have continued to work towards our goal of zero work-related injuries and illnesses wherever we operate in the world. We investigate all safety-related incidents and we have held a number of ‘stand-downs’ allowing employees to discuss safety issues and learning points from incidents.

In the UK, we have implemented initiatives aimed at sharing best practice between Transmission and Distribution. In the US, we have delivered new safety training programmes and have developed and implemented new safety procedures on topics including incident analysis, hazard communication and personal protective equipment.

While there has been a significant decrease in contractor Lost Time Injuries in UK Gas Distribution, we continue our efforts to improve safety performance across the Group. We have held workshops with major contractors to engage them in our overall safety improvement strategy.

Regrettably during 2003/04, two contractors died while working for our US operations. The contractors were replacing a crossarm on a transmission tower. As they manoeuvred the new crossarm into place, it came into contact with an adjacent energised line.

In January 2004, three employees of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and one employee from our Zambian joint venture, Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC), attended a fault at Avenue Substation. As the CEC employee was restoring power to the substation, a further unknown fault developed leading to an explosion. The three KCM employees were fatally injured in the incident.

Three members of the public died as a result of incidents directly associated with our operations.

On 19 June 2003, a partially sighted elderly lady tripped over a toolbox belonging to a National Grid Transco employee working in her house. The lady was taken to hospital where she later died.

On 18 August 2003, a member of the public entered National Grid Transco’s site at Croydon and climbed the gas holder. He subsequently fell from the gas holder and later died. Although no action was taken against the Group, we have since reviewed site security to ensure the public cannot access the site.

On 28 November 2003, the cellar doors in the pavement adjacent to a public house had been opened to enable gas to be vented safely. An elderly gentleman tripped on one of the doors and fell. He was taken to hospital where he later died.

All of the above incidents have been reviewed by the relevant Board Committees and plans put in place to seek to ensure such regrettable incidents do not happen again.