Receipt of Ofgem RIIO T1 & GD1 final proposals

RNS Number : 6551T

National Grid PLC

17 December 2012

 



17 December 2012                          

National Grid plc

National Grid notes receipt of Ofgem RIIO T1 & GD1 price control final proposals

Ofgem today published final proposals in respect of the RIIO-T1 and RIIO-GD1 price controls due to run for eight years to 31 March 2021. The draft licence amendments are expected to be published later this week, and Ofgem's final direction issued in late January or early February. After that direction is issued, parties may either respond within 20 working days or the licence amendments as directed, will come in to effect from 1 April 2013.

The final proposals cover all of National Grid's transmission and distribution owner and system operator businesses in the UK, with a regulated asset value in excess of £22bn and a significant proposed investment programme over the next eight years. As such the proposals are both lengthy and wide ranging and will take some time to review in detail before a final decision can be made about the overall acceptability of some or all of the plans. 

As a result, as previously stated, we do not expect to be able to provide the market with a further update much before the deadline for communicating our final decision to Ofgem, which should be no later than early March 2013.

CONTACTS

National Grid:

Investors
John Dawson	[phone]	[phone] (m)
Andy Mead	[phone]	[phone] (m)
George Laskaris	[phone]	[phone] (m)
Victoria Davies	[phone]	[phone] (m)
Tom Hull	[phone]	[phone] (m)
Media
Isobel Rowley Chris Mostyn Gemma Stokes	[phone] [phone] [phone]	[phone] (m) [phone] (m) [phone] (m)
Brunswick
Tom Burns Kate Holgate	[phone] [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 and decisions by governmental bodies or regulators (including the new RIIO approach in the UK); breaches of, or changes in, environmental, climate change and health and safety laws or regulations, including breaches 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 result of climate change or due to unauthorised access to or deliberate breaches of our IT systems or otherwise; 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,  restructuring and internal transformation projects; and customers and counterparties 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 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; the funding requirements of its pension schemes and other post-retirement benefit schemes; the loss of key personnel or the ability to attract, train or retain qualified personnel and any disputes arising with its employees or the breach of laws or regulations by its employees; and incorrect or unforeseen assumptions or conclusions (including financial and tax impacts and other unanticipated effects) relating to business development activity, including assumptions in connection with joint ventures. The effects of these factors are difficult to predict.  For further details regarding  these and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties please read the Business Review section including the 'Risk factors' on pages 41 to 43 of National Grid's latest 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, National Grid undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this announcement. The content of any website references herein do not form part of this announcement.

 

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