Chairman’s Statement

People

None of this would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our employees. Our people remain our key asset and we place great importance on their development. We actively seek out the potential leaders of the future and nurture their talent through leadership programmes and challenging opportunities within the organisation.

I am pleased to welcome Tom King to the Board as Executive Director of Electricity Distribution & Generation, a post he took up in August 2007. Tom came to us from Pacific Gas and Electric Company where he was CEO and President, as well as President of PG&E Corporation.

I am also pleased to welcome Bob Catell to the Board as Executive Director and Deputy Chairman, appointed in September 2007. Prior to the completion of the KeySpan acquisition, Bob was CEO and Chairman of KeySpan Corporation.

This year saw Edward Astle step down as an Executive Director in April 2008. Edward had been with us since 2001, and we valued his contribution in that time, in particular the £3.1 billion of cash created by selling several of our non-regulated businesses during the last year or so.

Finally, I am pleased to welcome Philip Aiken to the Board as a new Non-executive Director, appointed in May 2008. Philip comes to us with a wealth of engineering and health & safety experience from running international manufacturing and extraction businesses.