Our strategy includes the need to invest in new power stations. The decision about which technology to use will be significantly affected by the Government energy policy. As a consequence we have been actively engaged in policy discussion with UK Government.

As part of this, we responded in detail to the Government’s review of future national energy policy which was announced in November 2005. Our submission outlined the company’s view of the best way forward, and highlighted the need for diversity and sustainability in energy supply. Find out more about our submission to the Government’s Energy Review. The key to this, we believe, is a diverse low-carbon mix of energy sources, including gas, more renewables, clean coal and replacement nuclear.

Substantial investment in new power plant is needed during the next few years to avoid a “power crunch” within the next decade as existing coal and nuclear power stations close. Alongside the development of our energy generation mix we have also argued for much greater emphasis on encouraging energy saving for customers.

We actively support development of micro-generation and other local forms of power generation. To facilitate this we are seeking longer term regulatory investment requirements from Ofgem to enable public networks to be adapted and improved to cope with this new technology whilst ensuring continued security of supply.

More action is needed to improve energy efficiency and we support an obligation on the energy industry to fit a “smart” meter whenever an existing one needs replacing. The most vulnerable customers need more financial support to address the problem of energy affordability, and we support the introduction of a national “Tariff relief” scheme whose costs would be recovered through a modest premium paid by other energy consumers. We want to invest for the long term in order to keep the lights on, maintain prices at affordable levels and tackle the challenges presented by climate change. Our strategy to tackle climate change in the years to come is detailed in Our Climate Commitments.