Our Network: Distribution Use of System (DUoS)

The price movement associated with DPCR4 will give us more money to invest in all three networks to maintain a reliable service. We are also adjusting prices following two price reductions last year, in April and December, and introducing a common methodology for calculating our prices across the three networks.

EDF Energy currently has the lowest Distribution Use of System (DUoS) charges in the country and our service levels are as good as, or better than, other network operators. This means that customers already receive good service at a lower cost. The income we receive to maintain and improve the power distribution network will still equate to less than £50 per average domestic customer per year.

For standard domestic customers, the following average increases will apply to their bills:

• EPN - ten per cent, which equates to approximately an extra £5 per year.
• LPN - four per cent, which equates to approximately an extra £2 per year.
• SPN - eight per cent, which equates to approximately an extra £4 per year.

To set this increase in context, the distribution element of the electricity bill has decreased by approximately 50 per cent since the introduction of privatisation and independently audited regulation fifteen years ago. Our charges to maintain and improve the power distribution network equate to about 20 per cent of the customers' electricity bills.

This reduction in price has been good for our customers and has been possible because we have introduced stringent efficiency measures and better control of operational and capital expenditure. We have also found ways to extend the life of equipment on which the networks rely. Despite all the different cost pressures felt in the UK's ecenomic powerhouse, represented by the customers we serve on our networks and also our significantly increased capital investment plans, our networks remain among the cheapest in respect of DUoS, and our South network has the cheapest average domestic prices in the UK.