Written question asked by Stephen O'Brien (Conservative) on Tuesday, 27 January 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 23 February 2004. It was answered by Stephen Timms (Labour) on Monday, 23 February 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the current replacement rate of assets operated by the national electricity grid is. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the current replacement rate of assets operated by the national electricity grid is. [152040] Mr. Timms: Capital expenditure on asset replacement by the National Grid Company plc is currently of the order of £120 million per year, approximately one-third of NGC's total annual capital expenditure under its current regulatory price control. The value of the company's network assets is approximately £5 billion, which gives an average replacement rate of 42 years. NGC's asset replacement expenditure is based on a careful assessment of asset condition and not on a simple average asset age approach to replacement rate.

Secondary information