Looking ahead: what you can expect from us
Results
Given the regulated status of the majority of Alliander’s operations, the existing regulatory system and the changes in tariffs in 2017, Alliander expects to report a higher operating profit in 2018 than in 2017 (barring unforeseen circumstances and incidental occurrences).
Investments
Gross capital expenditure on the networks, relating mainly to replacement investments and expansion, but also on investments relating to the energy transition and ICT, is expected to total more than €700 million in 2018. The level of our long-term investment programme will be dictated in part by the extent to which decentralised generation and feed-in to the power grid expands. The mass roll-out of smart meters begun in 2015 will be at about the same level in 2018 as in 2017 and is expected to involve an investment in excess of €100 million in 2018.
Financial policy
Alliander’s financial policy is aimed at preserving financial strength and flexibility, as well as ensuring good access to the capital market at all times. This is achieved by maintaining as a minimum a solid A rating on a stand-alone basis and by ensuring we have a steady repayment schedule and a balanced investment plan, keep operating costs under control, have at our disposal committed lines of credit and hold sufficient reserves of cash, among other things.
Sustainability
As all the key steps in our ambitious programmes are in place, we will again be making major progress towards climate-neutral and circular operations in 2018. With respect to CO2 reduction, additional attention will be given to vehicle emissions, with new policies and by moving in a sustainable direction with our employees. We will boost the greening of our energy-related emissions. In addition we will work closely with our suppliers to raise the level of knowledge of circular materials usage in the supply chain and to improve our combined procurement performance.
Led by the SDGs and working with other infrastructure managers, a feature of 2018 will be sustainable changes in our chains. The initial action will be on tackling recurring problems that hinder sustainable innovation and system failures.
Details of our various plans and goals can be found in the Alliander Annual Plan 2018 on the website www.alliander.com.