Generating Electricity for Our Customers

EDF Energy owns and operates two coal-fired power stations, at Cottam and West Burton in Nottinghamshire, and a gas-fired power station at Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire. We also own and operate a number of wind farms in the north east of England, and CHP (combined heat and power) plants.

We generate sufficient electricity to cover the needs of our residential and small business customers and to make purchases on the wholesale electricity and gas markets in order to meet the needs of our larger business customers. This works well in the current market, matching the more competitive larger business customers' demands with current wholesale market prices.

In 2004, we supplied 51.1 TWh (2003, 48.5 TWh) of electricity and generated 24.9 TWh (2003, 22.5 TWh) and supplied 744 million therms (2003, 685 million therms) of gas. The output from own generation broadly covers the demand from our domestic customers. This works well in the current market, with the more competitive large commercial customers' demand being matched against market producers.

During 2004, the price of gas on the wholesale energy market increased significantly. The overall result was a headline increase in the cost of generating and purchasing electricity for our customers.