[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":80},["ShallowReactive",2],{"MhTlyrEB86":3},{"data":4},{"id":5,"status":6,"title":7,"split":8,"strap":9,"intro":10,"blocks":11,"stats":46,"commitments":66,"next":67},16,"published","Health and safety",null,"Ensuring safety","\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Health and safety is and always will be our top priority. Ours is a hazardous industry and we take the utmost responsibility to keep our employees and the public safe.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">UK Power Networks distributes electricity safely and reliably to satisfied customers at the lowest cost. These priorities are all crucial, but safety wins every time.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">It is always at the forefront of our minds that electricity is dangerous. We know that safety is rooted in the psychology of us all as human beings as much as it is in equipment and processes. We are meticulous and rigorous at a company level; alongside that discipline, we have a culture where everyone who works for or with UK Power Networks recognises that each of us has a personal responsibility to ourselves and our colleagues to make safety our number one priority.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">We had three Lost Time Injuries in 2023/24, where the employees concerned needed to take at least one day off work. None of those three involved electrical activity. Two happened because of lack of attention to the potential hazards in the surroundings and the other was caused by incorrect lifting technique. We have zero tolerance of accidents in the workplace, so three such accidents is three too many. We continue to reinforce our message to employees and contractors alike that safety must be our primary concern and each of us is responsible for our role in delivering a safe working environment.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p2\">Corporate memory\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">There is no substitute for firsthand experience for imprinting an event on our minds, but of course no one wants to experience or witness an accident. To capture some of the immediacy of safety failures of the past, we are building a stock of stories drawn from the collective memories of UK Power Networks and its predecessor companies.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">At a series of forums and workshops, we are sharing these with employees in a way that sticks in their minds; they are the stories of real colleagues. These accounts set out the circumstances that led to the accident and describe what happened. We also examine what we have learnt from the accident and what we do differently in light of those lessons.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">There are circumstances where we have no choice but to work on live overhead electricity lines to fix a fault. This is particularly hazardous and the small group of employees who work on live lines need highly focused training and preparation. We hold an annual conference for this group and this year we shared stories going back to 1975, chronicling the context and combination of circumstances that led to accidents, some of which – sadly – were fatal. The delegates at the conference were all too able to relate to these accounts. By building this corporate memory of what can go wrong, and spreading it throughout the workforce using case studies and role plays, we are striving to eliminate such accidents in the future.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p2\">Continuing to embed safety awareness in our operations\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Since February 2023, UK Power Networks has held weekly company-wide Safety Calls at which representatives from across the business share safety performance and other relevant reports that everyone can learn from. The calls provide the leadership team with a holistic picture of safety throughout the company. A nominated leader reports on each area of the business from a safety perspective and a safety league table shows where each area is in relation to its peers. Activities are ranked and the focus is on improvement rather than criticism. The reports cover safety incidents and near misses, compliance breaches or changes and anything else that is relevant.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">The output of the call is an action plan for each area, designed to address any gaps identified. This approach mirrors what we do in our customer service and network reliability functions. Since starting these calls we have seen significant improvement in safety compliance across the board, including, for example, better reporting levels and reduction in missed appointments relating to health and fitness to work.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p1\">Safety climate survey\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) runs a simple online questionnaire that measures a company’s safety climate and explores employees’ attitudes and perceptions in key areas of health and safety. The survey results in a report that provides the company with an analysis of its safety ethos in the context of its peer group and indicates those areas in the business where its approach to safety is strong, neutral or in need of attention. In 2023/24, UK Power Networks was in the top 10% of its peer group for six of the eight categories and in the top 40% for the remaining two. The report is helpful in identifying areas such as reporting of accidents and near misses where we need to improve our performance. Despite the accidents in recent years, UK Power Networks was once again recognised by the Energy Networks Association (ENA) as the safest DNO in Great Britain in 2023. We nevertheless remain vigilant and committed to continuous improvement in our safety record.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p1\">Employee health and well-being\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">As well as striving to eradicate all possibilities of hazards in the workplace, we also want our employees to be healthy and well. Employees have access to an app that provides support such as advice on nutrition, sleep and mindfulness, as well as kiosks to check physical health indicators such as blood pressure and BMI. In July 2023, following analysis of the data provided by our occupational health team, we ran an awareness campaign to encourage employees to lose an inch or two from their waistlines to avoid the health problems associated with carrying extra weight in that area.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p1\">Public safety\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">As well as doing everything we can to make UK Power Networks safe for those working for the company, we are also committed to ensuring that our actions or mistakes are not responsible for any harm coming to members of the public. Using a multi-channel communications approach, we reached over 0.6 million members of the public with our safety messages, against a target of 300,000 for this period. At the end of year one of this new five-year ED2 regulatory period, we have already reached 40% of our target of 1.5 million members of the public.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">In 2023/24, we continued to establish a strong focus on engagement with high-risk groups as identified through analysis of incident data from the previous reporting period. Public data from 2022/23 showed that contact with underground services makes up 39% of the safety incidents in the year, interference with the network accounted for 17% and contact with overhead lines was 16% of the total. This informed the public safety approach for 2023/24.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">Below is a sample of the public safety initiatives we have run:\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli class=\"p3\">Social media campaigns to target the building industry.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli class=\"p2\">Continued the rollout of our external trailer safety stickers for Look Up and Look Out, with the NFU/RHA (Road Haulage Association) and British Sugar.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli class=\"p2\">Extended collaboration with the RHA.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli class=\"p2\">Over 54,000 safety-related resources provided to third parties, including to specific trade associations identified as high-risk.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli class=\"p2\">Attended and delivered key safety messaging at 42 external events focused on SME builders/trades, streetworks practitioners, the agricultural community, and the construction industry.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli class=\"p2\">Line Search Before You Dig (LSBUD) working party collaboration continues. Safety information is provided to all customers requesting UK Power Networks plans.\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>",[12,33],{"item":13},{"id":14,"title":15,"intro":8,"pages":16,"items":17,"case":32},18,"Our performance in numbers",[],[18],{"id":19,"status":6,"sort":8,"title":20,"key":8,"fkey":14,"body":8,"cta":8,"intro":8,"stats":21},61,"Default",[22,27],{"stat_id":23},{"id":24,"figure":25,"caption":26,"stat_fid":8},24,"3","The number of injuries where employees needed at least a full day off work due to injuries in 2023/24",{"stat_id":28},{"id":29,"figure":30,"caption":31,"stat_fid":8},25,"84%","improvement in the Total Recordable Injury Rate since 2010/11 when the rate was 0.48. This is the number of workplace injuries that result in an individual being absent from work, receiving professional medical treatment per 100,000 hours worked",[],{"item":34},{"id":35,"title":36,"intro":8,"pages":37,"items":38,"case":45},27,"How we are keeping people safe",[],[39],{"id":40,"status":6,"sort":41,"title":42,"key":8,"fkey":35,"body":43,"cta":8,"intro":8,"stats":44},116,1,"Contractor forum","\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">What the forum demonstrated to us was UK Power Networks’ number one priority is safety. The emphasis was on good leadership and ensuring that no job is so important, urgent or costly that it can’t be planned accordingly and delivered safely every time.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">It was a well worthwhile day for contractors and much appreciated by us at TreeSmiths.”\u003C/p>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2 u-sig\">\u003Cstrong>Ben Smith\u003Cbr>\u003C/strong>Director, TreeSmiths Ltd\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">It is essential that our contractors are completely aligned with our internal standards, especially regarding safety. In March 2024, 150 contractors – along with our CEO and other senior UK Power Networks managers – gathered at a forum designed to share, learn and collaborate so that, together, we can reduce the risk of harm from our activities. The Forum looked at the principles underlying safe management of a hazardous workplace, sharing lessons from recent safety incidents and drawing on experience from other industries.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv class=\"u-block-panel\">\n\u003Ch5 class=\"p1\">What this means for our customers\u003C/h5>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">A safety-conscious workforce protects everyone: employees, customers and the general public. Contractors are a vital factor in how we deliver a safe service, so the better our contractors understand and follow our safety culture, the better – and safer – service they can provide.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>",[],[],[47,51,56,61],{"stat_id":48},{"id":41,"figure":49,"caption":50,"stat_fid":8},"91%","reduction in the number Lost Time Injuries since 2010/11, when we started as an independent business.",{"stat_id":52},{"id":53,"figure":54,"caption":55,"stat_fid":8},62,"0.08","Total Recordable Injury Rate¹ (TRIR). We have seen a 84% reduction in our TRIR since we started as an independent business in 2010/11",{"stat_id":57},{"id":58,"figure":59,"caption":60,"stat_fid":8},63,"Safest DNO","UK Power Networks was once again recognised by the Energy Networks Association (ENA) as the safest DNO in Great Britain in 2023.",{"stat_id":62},{"id":63,"figure":64,"caption":65,"stat_fid":8},64,"0.6 m","We reached over 0.6 million members of the public on safety, against a target of 300,000 for this period.",[],{"id":68,"status":6,"title":69,"split":8,"strap":70,"intro":71,"next":14,"blocks":72,"stats":74,"commitments":79},17,"Network reliability","Maintaining reliability","\u003Cp class=\"p1\">With the growth in low-carbon technologies powered by electricity, our customers are ever-more reliant on a reliable power supply. We are working tirelessly to deliver that.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">At UK Power Networks we pride ourselves on the reliability of our networks. Keeping the lights on is a key priority, whatever the weather or nature throws at us.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Most of our customers had an excellent service from us in 2023/24, but the power supply for a small number of people in our area of operations fell below our usual standard. Some of the interruptions to our service were caused by a small number of large, unrelated events. Other power cuts were caused by equipment malfunctioning. We are taking a careful look at our network and operational processes to find out why these events happened and why they had such an impact, and to do all we can to ensure our service is back to the excellent levels that we expect.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Our record shows us to be one of the most reliable DNO groups in the country, out-performing Ofgem performance targets by over 30% in the last regulatory period, RIIO-ED1. We are determined to continue to deserve our reputation for reliability in the current period, ED2. Our push for ever-greater reliability continues to focus on two main fronts: finding new ways to prevent faults rather than waiting for them to need to be repaired, and making greater use of remote control to restore customers’ supplies more quickly and efficiently.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p2\">Automating to improve network reliability\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Automation of the network is a crucial element in how we ensure that it runs smoothly and, when there is an interruption, it helps us get up and running again quickly without the need for manual intervention. Our deployment of remote-control technology increased considerably this year, and this is set to continue. We have now fitted over 14,000 of our substations with this kit to restore the electricity network remotely. We have the ambitious target of installing remote control equipment in over 5,000 substations across our area of operation, for both our HV (High Voltage) and LV (Low Voltage) networks. This involves, for example, retro-fitting remote switches on some older HV switchgear, replacing some with newer remote controllable ones and installing LV reclosers.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">We have about 3,000 sets of LV reclosers, which we routinely deploy across our LV network. These reclosers quickly restore the power supply after a transient LV fault and collect enough information about the fault to enable us carry out repairs.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">The next step in our proactive repair strategy is to introduce LV fault monitors. Whereas we use the LV reclosers to target specific LV circuits, we mostly use the LV fault monitors to keep a check on every LV cable coming out of the substation. The LV monitor records any disturbance it detects on the network and identifies where a fault is developing. That means we can find it and fix it before it becomes a problem for customers. The monitors also help us to keep any eye on network loads at any time. That means that when people are connecting low-carbon technology such as EVs and heat pumps, we have a better idea of how this is affecting the network, so we can be better prepared to handle the additional load. We made an important pledge to our customers that they won’t see a reduction in the quality of their supply as a result of our Net Zero commitments. The project to install 5,000 LV monitors over the course of ED2 (up to 2028) is central to that promise.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">In 2023/24, our LV reclosers were used 2,417 times, which means that we avoided 1.27 Customer Interruptions per 100 connected customers and 2.09 Customer Minutes Lost per connected customer.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p2\">Worst served customers\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">The focus of our programmes to continually improve the reliability of our network tends to be on reducing both the frequency and duration of power cuts for the majority of our customers. Nevertheless, we also want to address the position of the few and far between customers – fewer than 0.3% of them – who experience repeated power cuts. In the previous regulatory period (ED1), customers who had 12 high voltage faults in a three-year period, including a minimum of three faults in each year, were classed as Worst Served Customers according to Ofgem’s definition. This criterion has now changed, with the minimum three faults in each year reducing to two.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">This change means a 70% increase in the number of customers falling into the 'worst served' category. We have a programme of improvements to address these shortcomings, involving considerable capital investment, such as putting overhead lines underground. In the last year we have designed and delivered 40 such initiatives to support these poorly served customers, which is the approximate number we completed in the whole eight-year period of ED1.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p2\">Technical innovations supporting network resilience\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Our innovations team is always striving to improve the reliability of our network, and 2023/24 has seen the introduction of a range of new technologies designed to make the network more resilient. These include satellite technology (see case study, above), robot dogs, and drones to spot faults on the line.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Some of the tunnels we need to inspect are too small or unstable to send people into them, so we send the robotic dog, Spot, which is about the size of a Labrador. It goes into these tight spaces to capture camera footage and thermal imaging. These are combined with a new machine-learning platform using historical data to make sure underground cables remain reliable. The data also allow us to assess how quickly the infrastructure’s condition changes. Initial results revealed Spot’s potential to reduce the time taken to do maintenance inspections by up to 50%.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">We are also trialling the use of drones, piloted by trained UK Power Networks specialists, to locate faults on overhead lines. Previously, operational staff walked the length of such lines to find reported faults, and the drones save a great deal of time, meaning we can fix the faults more quickly and it’s safer than foot patrols.\u003C/p>",[35,73],29,[75,76,77,78],3,4,31,32,[],1737733128374]