We make it our priority that nobody should be endangered by any of our operations.

We're proactive in warning of the dangers of electricity

Every year, people across the UK are killed or injured by coming into contact with live electricity.

We're committed to the safe operation of our electrical distribution network for our employees and the public. All installations, equipment and work processes are designed with safety in mind, but injuries and fatalities can occur if members of the public get too close to our equipment, either unintentionally or deliberately. It's our responsibility under the Electricity Safety Quality and Continuity Regulations to prevent this as far as possible. We have robust systems and procedures in place to ensure our operational sites and electrical equipment are secure and will not endanger the public under normal circumstances. In addition, we have an extensive programme of awareness and education for key risk groups, focused on the hazards that affect them.

In particular we believe it's extremely important to ensure children receive this crucial message and we've developed an interactive, mobile Power Discovery Zone (PDZ). We have two PDZ trucks that travel to schools throughout central England and they visit around 18,000 children every year. The trucks contain a range of interactive displays, designed to educate and spread the message of staying safe around our network equipment. There is also an online resource that includes competitions, games and a jargon buster.

We've also created a new teaching resource called PlaySafe, which can be used by itself or in conjunction with a visit from the PDZ. It consists of a resource pack containing seven cross-curricular lessons addressing the hidden dangers of the electricity distribution network. To date, more than 150 schools and 22,000 pupils have benefited from these packs. As well as schools, the PDZ also visits agricultural and county shows to ensure our safety messages reach as wide an audience as possible. When visiting these shows, the truck is accompanied by a member of our distribution business who can offer practical safety advice.

In 2007, we ran a highly-successful Substation Poster Challenge. We invited youngsters to submit a poster design alerting children to the hidden dangers of electricity substations. We worked closely with teachers to offer a free lesson plan about substations, outlining what their role is and what the dangers are. Three thousand copies of the winning poster were distributed to primary schools throughout central England, along with a lesson plan for teachers to deliver to pupils.

We've produced a set of customer advice leaflets, which are available on our distribution business website. Covering the subjects of 'power cuts', 'customers with priority needs', 'pet owners', 'urgent power interruption' and 'planned power interruption', they are all now available to download as PDFs. We have designed them to be short and easily accessible, to clearly set out who we are, what we do, and how our customers can stay safe around electricity.

Despite all of our efforts in warning people of the dangers of electricity, in 2007 two fatal injuries occurred on our network as a result of third party activities. We investigated both incidents fully and involved the relevant external authorities, confirming that all appropriate notices and controls were in place.

CableSafe

The role of our CableSafe team is to provide advice to third parties working around our extensive underground network of cables in accordance with the principles of the Health & Safety guidance document 'Avoidance of Underground Services'. Our team aims to keep people safe whilst working around our cables and as a result, this protects our network from damage and interruption of supply for our customers.

The team provides this service in a number of ways:

• By responding to requests for help and guidance from either the CableSafe phone line, customer contact centre, internal business requests, or from our website
• By CableSafe liaison officers (CLOs) proactively approaching organisations who have damaged our cables in the past, so they can offer help, and support them in working safely in the future
• By CLOs identifying organisations who have the potential to damage our cables in the future and then offering them help and guidance to ensure they can create a safe working environment
• By giving customers information on how to access our other services, such as a service disconnection/wayleave enquiry or a diversion request

CableSafe will offer advice on and provide:

• Guidance on safe working practices
• Help in understanding the network plans we produce
• Practical advice on using a cable avoidance tool (CAT)
• Arrange presentations and tool box talks on site locations
• Help customers to understand how other departments within our company operate, including liaising with other teams to ensure the best possible customer service is given

During 2007, the team focused on managing the activity using a 'key account' management system. This involved working closely with identified companies to influence their working practices with a view to reducing the number of cable damages to our network.

We worked with eight different organisations and by the end of 2007 their collective cable damage rate had reduced by 25% compared to 2006.

In 2008, the focus will move away from key accounts and will concentrate on regional support with a wide range of organisations. The team will also be taking responsibility for identifying cable locations following requests from customers.

Due to the success of a trial course in 2007, a refresher programme is underway. It will remind all craft employees and project managers who work in the highway of their obligations of working safely and legally. All stakeholders who work under our operational licence will be included in this training. The training concentrates purely on roles and responsibilities on site and includes a training session with the Guide Dog Association. Our distribution business was also the first of our businesses to take part in British Safety Council 5-star audit. The audit identified several areas for improvement but complimented our business on its processes, systems and management commitment. We achieved the maximum 5 star result with 93.8%.

The safety of our own employees is paramount and in 2007, we completed a major exercise to harmonise our distribution safety rules that previously comprised two different sets. The project was one of the largest integrations ever undertaken within our industry, involving hundreds of procedures and processes with training and briefings for around 4,500 employees. This provides us with a single, safe recognised way of working and allows much greater operational flexibility, with appropriate employees being able to work anywhere on the network.

Our individual businesses have developed innovative solutions to the challenge of raising health and safety awareness. We run a safety, health and environmental (SHE) competition which is open to all teams and to all external service providers (ESPs), with the aim of recognising and promoting safety, health and environmental good practice.

The awards have three categories: best team, best ESP team and an individual award recognising the contributions of individual employees. All categories require a written entry, with both team awards also involving a site visit and formal presentation for shortlisted entries. The competition is judged by a panel comprising of managers and directors from across our business. In 2007 the competition attracted a record 99 entries, including entries from nine external service providers.

We believe this competition was instrumental in helping us win the prestigious RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) Gold Award for Health and Safety in 2007. The awards don't just focus on reducing the number of accidents and cases of ill health at work, but are also about ensuring that organisations have good health and safety management systems in place to help reinforce the message that good health and safety is good business.

Additionally we are suffering increasing thefts and vandalism at electrical substations, and in response to this we are working with Crimestoppers and launched a media campaign in June.

We are equally concerned about the safety of our customers, particularly over the growing issue of doorstep crime. In 2007 we launched a new doorstep crime prevention campaign, targeting older, infirm and vulnerable customers. Although it's very rare for an E.ON employee to visit a customer's property without prior arrangement, Home Office figures show that 95% of doorstep crime involves bogus callers impersonating utility workers. Our 'There's no such thing as the Electricity Board' campaign aims to raise awareness amongst our customers that the electricity board no longer exists and that they should be suspicious of anyone claiming to work for the electricity, gas or water board. As part of this we are involved with Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Doorstep Crime Prevention Partnerships.

Our distribution business has developed some new doorstep crime prevention stickers, as part of its work with local crime prevention groups. They are also included in our pioneering free winter pack, which contains a number of useful items for customers to use in the event of a power cut. Items include: an information leaflet, emergency contact information, a fleece blanket, gloves, a re-useable hand warmer and a battery operated torch.

Electrical installations and equipment produce electric and magnetic fields (EMFs). There is some public concern about these fields and their possible adverse effects on human health. We are fully committed to the health, safety and welfare of the public and our employees and take any suggestion of a risk to health seriously. For more than 20 years, major research programmes carried out across the world have explored whether exposure to extra low frequency electric and magnetic fields (ELF EMFs) have a demonstrable adverse impact on health.

Whilst some studies have suggested that exposure to ELF EMF levels below the World Heath Organisation supported guidance levels may be harmful, the results are not clear cut, and more work still needs to be done to resolve uncertainties. We support ongoing research by the UK Childhood Cancer Research Group (CCRG) and during 2008, we will be providing information on our 132,000 volt overhead power lines to the research group at Oxford University.

This is the second phase of a study, which is examining the potential link between high voltage overhead tower lines and childhood leukaemia. The CCRG report in 2005 on the first phase results examining 275,000 volt and 400,000 volt power lines, reported a statistical association. However at present, there is no plausible biological mechanism to explain if this statistical association is real, or certainty about what apect of ELF EMF exposure, if any, might be responsible. In April 2007 the Stakeholder Advisory Group on ELF EMFs (SAGE) provided its first interim assessment, which is currently being considered by the Government. We, along with the other electricity companies, are committed to meeting any Government requirements established as a result.