Performance Report 2004
Ambition 4: Safe and Responsible
Our product, electricity, is potentially very harmful. We operate 34,000 kilometres of overhead lines, which carry electricity to industry and our homes at anything from 230 to 132,000 volts. We also own and operate 138,000 kilometres of underground cables and it is standard practice for all new low and medium voltage networks to be constructed below ground.
We are committed to ensuring the health and safety of the communities we serve. A key factor is the work of our Networks branch education team, which has bases in London, the south east and the east of England. The team's advisors raise awareness of the dangers of electricity by working with around 60,000 pupils at primary and secondary schools every year.
They talk about how electricity is delivered to our homes and how to use it safely through hard-hitting, interactive presentations, including DVDs, a model of a street scene, and a safety booklet illustrated by Quentin Blake. They also run energy efficiency presentations. Both sessions are designed to tie in with the national curriculum. Similar messages are also delivered to angling clubs, yachtsmen, kite enthusiasts and hang-gliding clubs.
EDF Energy has distributed free safety education packs to all primary and secondary schools within the areas of the three networks we operate.
Education advisors also respond quickly with visits to schools in areas where children have been spotted risking their lives by interfering with overhead power lines. They recently ran workshops in schools in Sussex, spelling out the risks of tampering with electrical equipment after teenagers were spotted swinging on a 230 volt power line at Catsfield Pavilion. Following the incident, the lines were diverted underground to protect youngsters who have not be discouraged from playing dangerous games.
Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are caused by a range of industrial and domestic electrical appliances as well as by mobile telephones and power cables.
EDF Energy, together with the Electricity Supply Industry, follows the advice of the UK Government, which is advised by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB).
The NRPB recommended to the UK Government in March 2004 that it would be prudent to establish safety guidelines for public exposure to magnetic and electric fields.
EDF Energy uses the best available techniques and procedures to manage the risks associated with the building of new substations and overhead lines, as well as extending and operating our existing equipment.
It is standard practice for all new low and medium voltage networks to be constructed below ground and, in the last four years, 272 kilometres of existing overhead network have been undergrounded.