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NEWS
December 2012/January 2013 www.esb.ie/em
Roll-out of New ESB Group Strategy to 2025
In the last few weeks, ESB’s Executive Director Team has been on the road to brief employees on the new ESB Group Strategy to 2025, which was approved by the Board in July.
DURING THE past month, senior managers in every business unit attended day-long workshops to be briefed on the new strategy by the chief executive and to explore, and help define, what it means for their own organisations.
In addition, sessions have been held with broader groups of staff in the Generation and Wholesale Markets Directorate, the Electric Ireland and Business Services Centre Directorate and the Corporate Centre – with an extensive program planned to reach every member of ESB staff within the next few months.
This new strategy, the first major overhaul of ESB Strategy since 2008, lays out the long term vision for the company and is aimed at equipping ESB to thrive and prosper in the face of the major forces that will shape our sector, including:
• Increased competition from much larger UK and European-based players, as the Irish and British energy markets integrate
• The opportunities and threats presented by the long-term European Union objective of decarbonising society.
• A dramatically changed economic and financial environment
According to Group Director of People and Sustainability Pat Naughton, “We’re determined to do this roll-out differently than in the past. ESB Senior Management and the Company want to empower every member of staff at every level to fully engage with this new strategy, understand its rationale and to help define what it means for their own area of work.”
A key feature of the new strategy is a commitment to ESB as a vertically-integrated utility (VIU) with strong and viable businesses of scale right across the electricity value chain – from sourcing fuel to building and operating power stations, owning and operating networks to retailing the electricity, gas and energy services that our customers need.
“In a world marked by unprecedented uncertainty at all levels, a strong presence across the value chain will give ESB the flexibility and scale that it needs to manage risk and deal with unforeseen circumstances,” according to ESB’s Head of Regulation and Strategy Peter O’Shea, who led the ESB Senior Management team that formulated this strategy with the Executive Director Team.
While there are challenges and a need for ESB to adapt itself to a changing world, the ESB Group Strategy to 2025 also envisages a dynamic and growing company – with initiatives looking at new opportunities in such exciting areas as fibre to the home, the potential to expand the geographic reach and scale of ESB’s generation, trading and supply businesses, extending ESB’s leadership in the areas of smart metering/smart grids and an ambition for the growth of ESBI’s engineering services in emerging markets.
Allied to this, ESB is also looking to revamp the way in which it presents itself to the outside world. This work is being led by Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager Bernardine Maloney and is closely aligned with the new strategy focus on leveraging the combined strength of ESB group as a whole.
According to Bernardine, “In the past, we’ve been fragmented and inconsistent in terms of how we communicate externally. We have not spoken with one voice and as a result ESB’s messaging and reputation has suffered – and we have duplicated our spending and efforts. We aim to remedy that.” It is planned to brief staff on this new communication improvement initiative in the New Year.
Sale of non-strategic generation capacity
IN FEBRUARY 2012, the Government announced a range of disposal options across the state sector and indicated that a sale of some of ESB’s non-strategic generation capacity would be part of the asset disposal programme.
The Government has now requested ESB to develop proposals for the sale of some nonstrategic generation capacity, with the specific objective of delivering special dividends to the Government targeted at up to €400M by the end of 2014.
The Government has reaffirmed its commitment that ESB will
• Remain as a financially strong state-owned vertically-integrated utility (VIU)
• Maintain its credit rating to ensure access to funding in order to deliver its investment in key infrastructure
• Retain significant scale to compete in the all-islands (Ireland and UK) market, while continuing to move to an appropriate market share in Ireland.
Tragic Fatality
It is with regret that at time of going to press we were informed of a fatal injury to John O’Donnell, Bord Na Mona employee, at Lough Ree Power Station, Co. Longford. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues at this difficult time.
NIE in focus
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