National Grid plc
Encyclopedia
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
electricity and gas utility
Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom and northeastern United States and it is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world.
National Grid is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
.
Former CEGB
In 1990, the transmission activities of the Central Electricity Generating BoardCEGB
The Central Electricity Generating Board was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 40 years; from 1957, to privatisation in the 1990s....
were transferred to the National Grid Company plc, which was owned by the 12 Regional Electricity Companies (RECs) through a holding company, National Grid Group plc. In 1995, shares in this holding company were listed on the stock exchange. Within a year, most of the RECs had disposed of their interests.
Acquisitions
In 2000, National Grid Group acquired New England Electric System and Eastern Utilities Associates.In January 2002, National Grid Group acquired Niagara Mohawk Holdings, Inc, a New York State utility.
Merger with Transco
In October of the same year, National Grid Group merged with Lattice GroupLattice Group
Lattice Group plc was a leading British gas transmission business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
plc, owner of Transco – the UK gas distribution business (Lattice demerged from BG Group
BG Group
BG Group plc is a global oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. It has operations in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America and produces around 680,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It has a major Liquefied Natural Gas ...
in 2000). National Grid Group changed its name to National Grid Transco plc.
In 2004, National Grid Transco agreed to sell four of its regional gas distribution networks. The total cash consideration was £5.8 billion. NGT kept ownership of other four distribution networks, which comprise almost half of Great Britain's gas distribution network.
In 2005, National Grid Transco was renamed National Grid plc. On 26 July 2005 National Grid Company was renamed National Grid Electricity Transmission plc and on 10 October 2005 Transco was renamed National Grid Gas plc.
Further acquisitions
In February 2006, National Grid announced that it had agreed to buy KeySpanKeySpan
KeySpan Corporation, now part of National Grid USA, was the fifth largest distributor of natural gas in the United States. KeySpan was formed in 1998 as result of the merger of Brooklyn Union Gas Company and Long Island Lighting Company...
Corporation, a gas distributor and electricity producer in the United States, for $7.3bn (£4.1bn) in cash. Around the same time, National Grid also announced the acquisition of the Southern Union Company subsidiary, New England Gas Company in Rhode Island. The acquisitions of the two natural gas delivery companies materially doubled the size of National Grid's American subsidiary, creating the second largest utility in the United States with over 8 million customers.
The acquisition of KeySpan was completed on 24 August 2007 following government and regulatory approval and endorsement by the shareholders of the two companies.
UK
- National Grid Electricity Transmission plc (formerly National Grid Company) owns and operates the National Grid high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales. Since 1 April 2005 it also operates the electricity transmission network in Scotland (although this is still owned by Scottish PowerScottish PowerScottishPower Ltd. is a vertically integrated energy company with its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 2006 it became a subsidiary of the Spanish utility Iberdrola...
and Scottish & Southern Energy). - National Grid plc part owns and operates a 2,000 Megawatt HVDC link to France (HVDC Cross-ChannelHVDC Cross-ChannelThe HVDC Cross-Channel is the high voltage direct current connection that operates under the English Channel between the continental European and British electricity grids.-1961 cable:...
) with RTE. - National Grid plc part owns and operates a 1,000 Megawatt HVDC link to the Netherlands (BritNedBritNedBritNed is a high-voltage direct-current submarine power cable between the Isle of Grain in Kent, the United Kingdom, and Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.-History:...
) with TenneTTenneTTenneT B.V. is the national electricity transmission system operator of the Netherlands, headquartered in Arnhem. Controlled and owned by the Dutch government, it is responsible for overseeing the operation of the 380 and 220 kV high-voltage grid throughout the Netherlands and its...
. - National Grid Gas plc (formerly Transco) owns and operates the gas transmission network (from terminals to distributors), known as the National Transmission SystemNational Transmission SystemThe National Transmission System is the network of large-diameter gas pipelines throughout the United Kingdom that supply gas to 40 power stations from natural gas terminals situated on the coast, and also gas distribution companies which lead indirectly to homes.-Similarity to the National...
(NTS), and four distribution networks (from national network to customers): North West of England, East of England (which is split into two areas – East Anglia & East Midlands), West Midlands and London; the distribution networks were former regional divisions of British GasBritish Gas plcBritish Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...
.
USA
- National Grid USA
The utility operates over 9000 miles (14,484.1 km) of electricity transmission and delivers electricity and natural gas to areas of the Northeast states of MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Rhode IslandRhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and VermontVermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, serving over 3.3 million customers with electrical powerElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and 3.4 million customers with natural gas. National Grid USA is currently headquartered in Waltham, MassachusettsWaltham, MassachusettsWaltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...
a 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²) LEED certified "green" facility. The US subsidiary carries out its business through a number of subsidiary companies (all doing business as "National Grid"). The main ones are:- New England Power Company;
- Massachusetts Electric Company (in Massachusetts);
- Nantucket Electric (in Massachusetts);
- The Narragansett Electric Company (in Rhode Island);
- Granite State Electric Company (in New Hampshire);
- Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation (in New York StateNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
); - KeySpanKeySpanKeySpan Corporation, now part of National Grid USA, was the fifth largest distributor of natural gas in the United States. KeySpan was formed in 1998 as result of the merger of Brooklyn Union Gas Company and Long Island Lighting Company...
Corporation (on Long IslandLong IslandLong Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, NYNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and in parts of New York City); - Boston Gas Company (in Massachusetts);
- Colonial Gas Company (in Massachusetts); and
- EnergyNorth Natural Gas, Inc (in New Hampshire).
See also
- National Grid (UK)
- European Network of Transmission System Operators for ElectricityEuropean Network of Transmission System Operators for ElectricityThe European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity is an association of Europe's transmission system operators for electricity...
(ENTSO-E) - Energy policy of the United KingdomEnergy policy of the United KingdomThe current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
- Energy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use in the United Kingdom stood at 3,894.6 kilogrammes of oil equivalent per capita in 2005 compared to a world average of 1,778.0. In 2008, total energy consumed was 9.85 exajoules - around 2% of the estimated 474 EJ worldwide total...
- Scotia Gas NetworksScotia Gas NetworksScotia Gas Networks is a holding company of Scotland Gas Networks and Southern Gas Networks based in Horley.- History :The company was formed following National Grid plc's decision to sell four of its local gas distribution zones in order to raise funds for expansion...