National Grid to introduce new collaborative contracts to update electricity network

24/10/2006

Utility company National Grid has announced the preferred partners for new five year contracts worth up to £2.8 billion that will be a significant part of the overall potential capital investment to upgrade and develop the electricity transmission network across England and Wales.

The contracts will be amongst the largest ever awarded by National Grid and include work on high voltage overhead lines and underground electricity cables plus contracts for substation development and construction. The long term contracts will be split on a geographic basis to improve access planning with distribution network operators and the following companies and consortia have been chosen as preferred partners:

Overhead line and cable Alliances:

East Alliance:   Balfour Beatty Group
West Alliance:   AMEC, Babcock and Mott MacDonald

Substation Alliances:
Alliance 1 - South East:
  AREVA, Skanska & Mott MacDonald
Alliance 2 – S. Wales & West: Jacobs, Morrisons Utility Services & Mitsubishi Electric
Alliance 3 – Central:   ABB, Morgan Est & Atkins
Alliance 4 – North:   Siemens, J Murphy & Sons Ltd & PB Power

The Alliances will support National Grid’s increased investment in the electricity transmission network and contribute to the wider issue of security of supply. The works are required to connect new infrastructure such as wind farms and other new electricity generation plant. The contracts will also cover enhancement and replacement of existing assets to ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of the electricity network.

These collaborative contracts involve the whole supply chain and take into consideration the total life of the assets to ensure safe and sustainable delivery with a strong emphasis on health and safety. The initial contract length is five years, with a potential extension for a further five, and all companies are committed to building integrated Alliances and long-term working relationships.

National Grid’s Director of UK Construction, Rowan Sharples said, “Following the success of our Gas Alliances, we have adopted a collaborative approach for electricity transmission.” Providing long-term visibility of workload makes us a more attractive client and is essential for resourcing in a very buoyant world market. We believe working as one team will make the best use of competencies and the sharing of risk and reward improves both ownership and innovation” 

ENDS

For further information please contact:

National Grid
UK Press office   Louise Farrell  +44 (0)1926 655373 

Overhead line and cable Alliances:
East Alliance
  - Marjorie Hooper  +44 (0)207 2166883
West Alliance - Sarah Costin  +44 (0)1623 684417

Substation Alliances:
Alliance 1 - South East  - Rachael Clamp  +44 (0)1785 786209
Alliance 2 – S. Wales & West - Louise Sloan  +44 (0)141 5668252
Alliance 3 – Central - Karen Strong  +44 (0)1785 825144
Alliance 4 – North - Andrew Fox  +44 (0)161 4466655

Photographs of National Grid’s electricity transmission activities are available for journalists at www.newscast.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

National Grid is one of the world's largest utilities, focused on delivering energy safely, reliably and efficiently. We own and operate gas and electricity transmission and gas distribution networks in the UK and US and electricity distribution networks in the US.
The company owns the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales, which includes some 7,200 miles of overhead lines and 340 substations, and also operates the national system across Great Britain.
www.nationalgrid.com/uk/electricity

Overhead line and cable Alliances:

East Alliance - Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty is the leading UK supplier of power transmission and distribution networks to the international power supply industry.  It is also a partner to National Grid in its 30-year gas mains network replacement and abandonment programme under an eight year alliance contract for the North West of England, worth approaching £400 million.

West Alliance - AMEC, Babcock and Mott MacDonald  
Overhead lines and cable alliance west brings together three internationally renowned companies, Babcock, AMEC and Mott MacDonald, to create a consortium with vast experience of alliancing, partnering and prime contracting which dates back over 10 years.  More than 80% of Babcock’s business and 75% of AMEC’s business, valued at over £5 billion, is in collaborative alliancing projects with bluechip and large public sector projects that have been delivered in collaborations.  All three companies have specialist divisions currently delivering successful Overhead Transmission Line projects to National Grid.

AMEC plc is an international project management and services company that designs, delivers and supports infrastructure assets for customers across the public and private sectors.

Babcock is a support services company that provides the people and services to deliver maintenance, facilities management, technical services and training to customers in defence, public sector and commerce.

Mott MacDonald is a management, engineering and development consultancy delivering solutions that add value to many areas of everyday life – from energy, transport, building, water and the environment to health and education, industry and communications.

Substation Alliances:

Alliance 1: South East – AREVA, Skanska and Mott MacDonald
AREVA T&D - With manufacturing facilities in 40 countries and a sales network in more than 100 countries, AREVA offers customers reliable technological solutions for CO2-free power generation and electricity transmission and distribution. AREVA's businesses help meet the 21st century's greatest challenges:  making energy available to all, protecting the planet, and acting responsibly towards future generations. AREVA's T&D division is an active player around the globe. It designs, manufactures and supplies a complete range of equipment, systems and services for all stages in the transfer of electricity, from the generator to the large end-user.

Skanska UK Plc is a construction services business operating under three business streams – PFI/PPP; Civil Engineering & Specialists; and Construction. This enables us to combine design, building, civil engineering and building services with a wide range of specialist skills. By integrating all disciplines and working together with our clients, our partners and our supply chain, we make a real difference to the way construction is delivered. By continually improving the service we offer and delivering on safety, environment, quality and performance – our clients see us as the first choice of partner.

Mott MacDonald – as above. The company's transmission and distribution business has a world-wide reputation for engineering high voltage AC and DC transmission schemes up to 500kV, industrial power systems including petrochemical plant supply systems, connection of generation plant to grid systems plus urban and rural electrification and distribution systems. Specialist expertise covers asset valuation, distribution planning, network modelling, planning and optimisation, systems analysis, plant condition assessment overhead line construction in difficult terrain. Transmission experience also covers HVDC converter stations and associated overhead lines, underground and submarine cables.
  
Alliance 2: S. Wales & West - Jacobs, Morrisons Utility Services & Mitsubishi Electric  
This Alliance, which comprises three companies Jacobs, Morrison Utility Services and Mitsubishi Electric, has been formed as a direct response to National Grid’s new collaborative approach for the delivery of its capital programme.  The consortium brings new skills and draws upon the extensive experience of its constituent members.

Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of professional technical services and will provide extensive programme management and other design and project support services.

Morrison Utility Services is a leading provider of electrical/mechanical installation & civil engineering services to the utility market.

Mitsubishi Electric is a world class manufacturer of electrical substation equipment and will provide EHV equipment and engineering solutions into the consortium.

Alliance 3: Central - ABB, Morgan Est & Atkins  
The Central Region National Grid Substation Alliance comprises ABB, Morgan Est & Atkins.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leading global power and automation group with a substantial track record in delivering substation projects for utility customers worldwide. Morgan Est (www.morganest.com) is a leading provider of infrastructure and utilities services across the public and private sectors and is a key division of Morgan Sindall plc, one of the UK's top ten construction companies.
Atkins is one of the world's largest multidisciplinary consultants (www.atkinsglobal.com) who plans, designs and enables complex capital programmes for it clients worldwide.

Alliance 4: North - Siemens, J Murphy & Sons Ltd & PB Power   
For further information on these companies please contact Andrew Fox on 0161 4466655

www.siemens.co.uk
www.murphygroup.co.uk
www.pbpower.net