Business Area Distribution

Vattenfall’s Distribution business owns and operates electricity distribution networks in Sweden and Germany (Berlin) and has approximately 3.3 million business and household customers. 

A new business unit for operation and ownership of new networks in the UK was established in 2017. Electricity distribution is primarily a regulated business supervised by network regulators in the respective countries. In Sweden, revenue regulation will be much stricter and the revenue frames significantly lower from the next regulatory period, which starts in 2020. Vattenfall has reviewed its investment plans to adjust to the new conditions while at the same time maintaining focus on maximising the efficiency of investments. We strive to minimise impact on biodiversity in our distribution operations and make best use of the areas around our assets to aid protected or threatened species. Sustainable nature conservation and the protection of species are important aspects in the construction and operation of our electricity networks. We therefore place high demands on suppliers and contractors to adhere to our environmental policy.

Strategy

Electricity distribution is essential for a sustainable society, and expectations on the security and quality of our power supply are high. Despite major investments in the network over many years, we must continue to improve the quality of supply by reducing the frequency of outages and their average duration. We also see an urgent need to increase network capacity in many areas to be able to connect more customers and enable growth in society. The ageing network must be modernised to manage the growing volume of decentralised renewable power generation that needs to be connected. We are committed to enabling the adoption of smart meters, digital solutions and related customer information.

The following focus areas have been identified for Distribution:

• To be customer centric – enable efficient customer interactions and connections
• To operate secure and efficient networks – invest to improve distribution network quality and capacity
• To ensure the right and diverse competence – develop our people andencourage new ways of working
• To be the preferred partner for new networks – grow and deliver customercentric solutions
• To be sustainable in the long term – strive for a stable revenue framework and minimising environmental impact

Safety has top priority in the Distribution business. We strive for a healthy and safe workplace through leadership and a culture of health and safety awareness. We continuously work with safety inspections at our facilities to mitigate risks. In the event of incidents in the electricity network, we report to and cooperate with the relevant authorities and take necessary measures to prevent similar events from occurring again. This is a continuous process with the long-term goal to have zero accidents.

Key data

¹ Operating profit excluding items affecting comparability.

² SAIDI: System Average Interruption Duration Index

³ SAIFI: System Average Interruption Frequency Index