The strong and enduring relationships we have with our local communities is a source of great pride to us  – and one that we believe is essential to the economic development of our business.

Building and maintaining the trust of our communities has been one of our key priorities over many years. We have a long track record of supporting communities not only financially, but also through the skills, generosity and enthusiasm of our people.

We have a significant presence in many communities – power stations and substations, offices and overhead lines, along with meters in several million homes and businesses.

Our people are an integral part of the community too, with networks staff out and about urban and rural areas, working on substations, powerlines and cables to keep the lights on, and meter readers, sales staff and community liaison officers visiting people at their homes.

We aim to conduct our activities responsibly, in a way that is considerate to local communities – minimising disturbance to people’s daily lives wherever we can.

At the heart of building and maintaining the trust of our communities is open and honest communication. That means being willing to listen to community stakeholders, encouraging two-way communication and doing what we say we’ll do.

Like many companies, we support our local communities through investment in sponsorships and charitable giving that benefits society or the environment.

As our presence in a community is usually long-term, we favour enduring partnerships for our community investment programmes, which allow us to deliver tangible and lasting benefits over time.