Black Start Contracts

RNS Number : 8435H

National Grid PLC

23 August 2016

 

23 August 2016

Black Start Contracts

Ofgem has announced its response to the Proposed Income Adjusting Event filed by National Grid in May 2016 for the recovery of up to £113 million of additional costs in order to contract Black Start capability with Drax and Fiddler's Ferry and meet its obligations across the country.

The result of Ofgem's decision is that National Grid will recover £95 million of the additional costs, and the Group's exposure is limited to a maximum of £18 million. This reflects full recovery of the Fiddler's Ferry contract and recovery of 70% of the Drax contract, after applying the sharing mechanism.

National Grid is disappointed with Ofgem's decision regarding the Drax contract as it believes the costs could not have been reasonably foreseen.

In 2015/16 the Balancing Services Incentive Scheme (BSIS) contributed £27 million in profit before tax, and the £18 million impact will be set against any BSIS out performance in the current year.

CONTACTS

Investors:
Aarti Singhal	[phone]
Media
Gemma Stokes	[phone]
Sean Kemp	[phone]
Brunswick
Tom Burns	[phone]
Mike Smith	[phone]

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This announcement contains certain statements that are neither reported financial results nor other historical information. These statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include information with respect to National Grid's financial condition, its results of operations and businesses, strategy, plans and objectives. Words such as 'anticipates', 'expects', 'should', 'intends', 'plans', 'believes', 'outlook', 'seeks', 'estimates', 'targets', 'may', 'will', 'continue', 'project' and similar expressions, as well as statements in the future tense, identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of National Grid's future performance and are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions, risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond National Grid's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as changes in laws or regulations, announcements from and decisions by governmental bodies or regulators (including the timeliness of consents for construction projects); the timing of construction and delivery by third parties of new generation projects requiring connection; breaches of, or changes in, environmental, climate change and health and safety laws or regulations, including breaches or other incidents arising from the potentially harmful nature of its activities; network failure or interruption, the inability to carry out critical non network operations and damage to infrastructure, due to adverse weather conditions including the impact of major storms as well as the results of climate change, due to counterparties being unable to deliver physical commodities, or due to the failure of or unauthorised access to or deliberate breaches of National Grid's IT systems and supporting technology; performance against regulatory targets and standards and against National Grid's peers with the aim of delivering stakeholder expectations regarding costs and efficiency savings, including those related to investment programmes and internal transformation and remediation plans; and customers and counterparties (including financial institutions) failing to perform their obligations to the Company. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in this announcement include fluctuations in exchange rates, interest rates and commodity price indices; restrictions and conditions (including filing requirements) in National Grid's borrowing and debt arrangements, funding costs and access to financing; regulatory requirements for the Company to maintain financial resources in certain parts of its business and restrictions on some subsidiaries' transactions such as paying dividends, lending or levying charges; inflation or deflation; the delayed timing of recoveries and payments in National Grid's regulated businesses and whether aspects of its activities are contestable; the funding requirements and performance of National Grid's pension schemes and other post-retirement benefit schemes; the failure to attract, train or retain employees with the necessary competencies, including leadership skills, and any significant disputes arising with the National Grid's employees or the breach of laws or regulations by its employees; and the failure to respond to market developments, including competition for onshore transmission, the treats and opportunities presented by emerging technology, development activities relating to changes in the energy mix and the integration of distributed energy resources, and the need to grow the Company's business to deliver its strategy, as well as incorrect or unforeseen assumptions or conclusions (including unanticipated costs and liabilities) relating to business development activity, including assumptions in connection with joint ventures.  For further details regarding these and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may impact National Grid, please read the Strategic Report section and the 'Risk factors' on pages 183 to 186 of National Grid's most recent Annual Report and Accounts. In addition, new factors emerge from time to time and National Grid cannot assess the potential impact of any such factor on its activities or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual future results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Except as may be required by law or regulation, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this announcement.

 

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