Breath of fresh air

EDF Energy is currently undertaking a five-year investment programme to improve the efficiency and to reduce CO2 emissions at its two coal-fired power stations. Work started in summer 2006 to fit new high-pressure steam turbines. This £40 million programme is estimated to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gas emissions by 2.5%, saving the equivalent of five million tonnes of CO2 in the period to 2020.

Low-carbon projects

During 2006 EDF Energy, together with the London Climate Change Agency, formed an energy services company which will help develop decentralised low-carbon energy projects in the capital. The new company will finance, build and operate local energy systems for new and existing building developments.

A significant project pipeline has been established which should result in substantial CO2 emissions reductions of more than one million tonnes in the
next decade. 

Customer rewards

Read. Reduce. Reward, launched in May 2005, gives our customers the ability to reduce the amount they spend on their home energy and the carbon they emit in the process.

Customers are rewarded with loyalty points from the Nectar scheme for submitting their meter readings and for reducing their consumption.

More than 180,000 customers have signed up to Read. Reduce. Reward to take advantage of the benefits of accurate billing and reduced consumption.

Contractor relations

Contractors play a vital role in our operations. Very often, as they carry out huge and complex projects on our behalf, they are the public face of EDF Energy. For some years we have developed one-to-one "alliance" relationships with our key contractors. During 2006 we strengthened this by introducing a new approach to help us work even more closely with our three groundworks contractor partners. Our aim is to agree common objectives, share best practice and align business strategy. The ethos of sharing best practice now runs so deep that the contractors even share with each other. A recent example is that when one of our contractors developed a depot to recycle material excavated during streetworks, they promptly offered the service to the other two.

Fluid-filled cables

In London, hundreds of kilometres of the public network consist of cables filled with oil or other insulating fluids to maintain their temperature. Over time, these can crack and the oil can escape into the ground.

We need to detect all leaks quickly, especially where our network runs through areas classed as environmentally sensitive.

On top of our ongoing programme to replace ageing cables, we are investing in a new leak-location technology. This will enable us to pinpoint more accurately where a leak occurs, reducing the  excavation needed to locate the leak on the affected cable. This means less disruption to motorists, pedestrians and businesses - and minimises damage to the environment.

Expert input

In an innovative move, EDF Energy has appointed a group of leading experts to provide input to the development of its strategy and business approach.

It has set up a Stakeholder Advisory Panel made up of eminent individuals with broad experience in business, community relations and the environment. The panel will play a valuable role in helping the company prepare for the challenges of the next five years.

Chief Executive Vincent de Rivaz and Executive members will attend the quarterly meetings to benefit from the perspective of experts from varied backgrounds outside the company. As well as providing intellectual input, the panel will provide a healthy challenge to the Executive, facilitate meetings with key opinion formers and be advocates on the company's behalf.