ENERGYEYEProspect members in energy and decommissioning

www.prospect.org.uk • Issue 4, December 2013

NEVER HAS energy been so high in the headlines and, for professionals working in the industry, never has there been a greater need to build consensus and confidence in order to meet the energy demands of the future.

OFGEM has continued to warn about reduced energy margins and this is underpinned by facts that our members have known for many years. The need to invest in capacity, infrastructure, jobs and skills is now unassailable. The demographics of an increasingly ageing workforce also make for sobering reading.

Just at a time when it is imperative that action is taken, energy has become a political football. Against this backdrop the union has been extremely busy – one of its strengths is that it is not affiliated to any political party and its professional voice is respected across the political spectrum.

Prospect spoke on energy policy at all the major party conferences and it was welcome that the Liberal Democrat party changed its policy to support nuclear new build.

Public and political reaction to recent price rises demonstrates how fragile consensus around energy is. As a result the union has been engaging with the government and other energy stakeholders, most recently meeting Caroline Flint, the shadow energy spokesperson.

It follows a letter Prospect sent to Flint warning that Labour’s promises to cap energy bills and introduce a tougher regulator should not be seen as a green light for employers to drive down terms and conditions.

We have also welcomed announcements made in relation to the strike prices for new nuclear and renewables, and we support the development of carbon capture and other technologies, including giving consideration to the contribution shale gas could make.

But what is clear is that there is no quick fix or silver bullet to meet our long-term energy needs. By the same token, it is now understood that while markets have a role to play, unfettered markets do not provide the long-term stability for the strategic investment needed to take place.

Union voice in energy debateEnergy has become a political hot potato recently but Prospect has been making sure members’ voices are heard among all the clamour, reports deputy general secretary Garry Graham

The UK is not alone in facing these challenges. Prospect was recently invited to speak in Poland in relation to the benefits of new nuclear – a real challenge when 94 per cent of energy production comes from indigenous coal.

Part of Prospect’s role is to encourage politicians, the companies we deal with and other stakeholders to think longer term in relation to the development and implementation of energy policy.

With this aim I would like to encourage members to persuade their MPs to sign up to the Prospect Pledge campaign. A government that is perceived as letting the lights go out is a government that does not get re-elected. There has never been a more important time to be a Prospect member in order to ensure that your professional voice is heard.

■■ To■find■out■more■about■the■Prospect■Pledge■campaign,■in■particular■the■call■for■action■to■help■the■energy■sector■face■future■challenges,■visit■■www.prospect.org.uk/prospectpledge

■ Prospect is shining a spotlight on women in traditionally

male-dominated occupations by publishing a ‘pioneers’ calendar. EDF Energy’s Jennifer Clark (pictured)■and Catherine Beresford of UK Power Networks are engineers from the energy sector who both feature in a collection of workplace portraits.

Each calendar is £5, plus p&p, and a proportion of that will be donated to Oxfam’s project in the slums of Nairobi to help women trapped in poverty improve their livelihoods.

■■ To■find■out■more,■including■■how■to■order■copies,■visit■■www.prospect.org.uk/pioneers

■■ Graham■–■A■government■that■is■perceived■as■letting■the■lights■go■out■is■a■government■that■does■not■get■re-elected

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reduce to £19 per month, dropping to £18 per month or the top of the banded rate – whichever is higher – from 1 January 2016.

On current projections it is expected that convergence will have been reached by that stage. Given the challenges our members face across the industry, there has never been a more important time to be a member. If you have a colleague who is not a Prospect member please encourage them to join.

UNLOCK YOUR POTENTIAL WITH PROSPECT’S CAREER CONFERENCEPROSPECT is holding a conference for members who wish to develop their professional and personal potential.

The all-day event is being held at the Museum of London on Tuesday 28 January 2014 and is open to members from all sectors.

Professional counsellors from C2, the careers group at the University of London, will be on

hand to help you: ● evaluate career priorities ● acquire new skills ● improve networking opportunities ● deal with setbacks and challenges ● be more assertive in the workplace■■ For■more■information■and■to■register■for■a■

place,■contact:■jackie.moonan@prospect.org.uk

A BIG THANK YOU FROM KILIMANJAROSELLAFIELD rep Sharon Platt (pictured front row second from right) would like to thank all the colleagues and friends who helped her raise £4,500 towards her Kilimanjaro climb for Alice’s Escapes, a Cumbrian charity that provides free holidays for families with seriously sick children.

Sharon said the trek, where she reached an altitude of 5,600m and endured temperatures of -14º, was a “fantastic and challenging experience”.

The group of Alice’s Escapes challengers raised over £34,000. The charity was founded by Alice Pyne, who lost a five-year battle against leukaemia, aged 17.

THE NATIONAL executive committee has agreed to reduce the subscription cap for members working in the energy supply industry sector.

The vast majority of members in ESIS pay 0.55 per cent of their wages by direct deductions from salary, capped at £252 per year, or £21 per month.

This cap has remained frozen since 2006-07 while the ‘banded’ rate applied in other areas has continued to increase. It had been expected, over a period of time, that the capped rate and the banded rate would converge.

However, as a result of a motion

ESIS subs cap to reduceremitted at the ESIS conference, it has been decided to accelerate the process of convergence.

Conference agreed that any change should not undermine our ability to represent members on an individual or collective basis while affordability was also a key consideration, given the demands on the union have never been greater.

It was emphasised during the debate that the quality of representation provided when members find themselves in difficult circumstances is key to Prospect’s success.

From 1 January 2014 the cap will

Deputy general secretary Garry Graham reports on changes to Prospect’s subscription rates

The cap will reduce to £19 per month, dropping to £18 per month or the top of the banded rate

Published by Prospect, New Prospect House, 8 Leake Street, London SE1 7NN EnergyEye editor: Katherine Beirne e: katherine.beirne@prospect.org.uk t 020 7902 6625 College Hill Press

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RECRUIT A MEMBERThe more members we have – the stronger our voice. Ask your colleagues to join us at www.prospect.org.uk/join or call 020 7902 6600 for more details.

Strike price deal reliefNEWS THAT the government and a consortium led by EDF Energy finally reached agreement over a strike price for energy coming from any new nuclear plant came as a huge relief, said Prospect deputy general secretary Garry Graham.

Commenting on the strike price of £92.50 for every megawatt hour from Hinkley C, Graham said it could not have come at a more important time given the current debate in the UK over energy policy and the challenges facing the industry and consumers.

“Prospect has been campaigning and lobbying for over a decade for new nuclear as a key component of the energy mix.

“So I understand the frustration among many members that the challenges we face in terms of the

need for investment in generation, transmission and distribution, alongside workforce renewal and skills, were predicted over a decade ago.

“However, the strike price decision is a hopeful signal of a longer term and more strategic approach with regard to UK energy policy.”

Graham said it provided the green light for £16bn in investment at Hinkley C, which will provide 25,000 jobs over the lifetime of the plant and 7 per cent of the UK’s energy needs.

“However,” he said, “we still face significant challenges, not least of which is the need for a long-term deep ground storage facility for waste on which the union has been campaigning and lobbying for a long time.” (See page seven.)

ACTION GEARS UP ON PENSIONS BILLCAMPAIGNING by Prospect members in the energy sector is having a direct impact on the progress of the government’s Pensions Bill. Hundreds of Prospect members have written to their local MP to raise key issues with the bill.

This lobbying has contributed to the Labour frontbench moving an amendment to retain the protections granted to workers when the electricity and nuclear industries were privatised.

While that particular amendment was defeated in the Commons at report stage it is likely to form the basis of further attempts to revise the bill as it progresses through the Lords, where the government does not have a majority.

The bill begins its second reading in the Lords on 3 December. Prospect officials have already met with a number of Lords

frontbenchers and plans are being finalised for involving members in lobbying as the bill is considered in the upper house.

Neil Walsh, Prospect pensions officer, said: “Members’ efforts are having

a real impact. MPs and other policy makers consistently mention the size of their mailbag on these issues.

“The Labour amendment in the Commons highlighted the fact that the government

still has not responded to its own consultation on the impact of its plans on ‘protected persons’.

“There is a lot of momentum for something to be done in this area and we must capitalise on this as the bill progresses through the Lords. We are also very aware of the impact of the bill on members in the sector who are not ‘protected persons’ and lobbying on these issues will continue to be a priority.”

Sellafield decision makes senseTHE Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s decision to extend the management contract at Sellafield for another five years is the common sense option, Prospect has said.

National secretary Gill Wood said: “It ensures continuity for Sellafield staff and continuity for the funding the consortium provides to develop alternative

employment opportunities within the local community once the decommissioning work comes to an end – an important strand of the decommissioning policy.”

However, she warned, Nuclear Management Partners needs to have a sharper focus on delivery, with stronger communication and interaction with Sellafield’s unions.

NOT SO OVER THE MOONWHAT looks like a saucer but is the size of a dinner plate, is recognisable by its four horseshoe-shaped gonads and can bring a nuclear reactor to its knees? The answer is the Aurelia aurita (also called the moon jelly, moon jellyfish, common jellyfish, or saucer jelly).

Operators of the Oskarshamn nuclear plant in south-eastern Sweden had to shut its reactor three down recently after tons of these jellyfish clogged the pipes that bring in cool water to the plant’s turbines.

It is a phenomenon that marine biologists say could become more common. Last year the California-based Diablo Canyon facility had to shut its reactor two after sea salp – a gelatinous, jellyfish-like organism – clogged intake pipes. In 2005, the first unit at Oskarshamn was temporarily turned off due to a sudden jellyfish influx.

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■■ Walsh■–■■having■a■real■impact

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SIGNIFICANT CHANGE is needed if the industry is to meet the challenge of reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent while providing consumers with the energy they need.

This needs to be achieved without forcing manufacturing overseas to countries with more permissive approaches to emissions or raising fuel prices when the poorest in society are already struggling to pay their fuel bills.

So the UK needs to look to engineering innovation as a way forward. That has been the challenge facing Drax, Britain’s largest independent electricity generator.

The challengesOver the past 10 years, various governments have committed Britain to significant reductions in carbon emissions that largely shape energy policy: secondary legislation sets a 45 per cent reduction target for 2027 and the power sector has to exceed this.

Despite the much touted and prolonged death of the British deep-mine coal industry, coal remains a substantial UK energy source. Over 54 million tonnes were consumed last year. Admittedly this was a peak due to low global prices given the US’s switch to shale gas and a dash by UK operators to use the remaining operating hours of several large coal stations earmarked for closure by 2015 due to the EU Large Combustion Plant Directive.

Even accounting for these factors, coal use in the UK has never fallen below 40 million tonnes, so there is still a substantial challenge.

Carbon capture and storage technology could have a role to play in the long-term. Indeed Drax has formed a joint venture with Alstom and BOC to secure government funding to develop a 460MW CCS plant at Drax. But,

realistically, this technology is still a long way from commercial operation.

So, as the largest coal power station in Western Europe, Drax needed to develop new and innovative mechanisms for producing cleaner electricity to secure a future for the plant, while still helping society meet its energy objectives.

Project PhoenixSince it was founded in 2003, Drax has improved efficiency and reduced carbon emissions by increasing both turbine efficiency and co-firing of biomass.

Now, through Project Phoenix, the company is committing £2bn to producing 50 per cent of its electricity output solely from biomass and converting three of Drax’s six 660MW units to biomass, starting this year, with completion due in 2015 by the latest.

Given that the plant produces 6 per cent of the country’s electricity this will be a significant contribution to carbon emission reduction. The first unit came online in April after two years of technical trials.

It is one of biggest investments in Britain’s energy infrastructure and involves the development of transport, storage and combustion systems as biomass has significantly different physical properties to coal.

It must be stored in one of four newly built dry silos, each bigger than the Royal Albert Hall, that prevent the fuel absorbing moisture and minimise the health and fire risks of a fine powder. As the fuel itself is more bulky than coal, Drax has invested in a new rail-wagon fleet and port handling facilities.

Prospect members have been at the heart of these technological challenges, from developing the fuel handling and preparation facilities to gaining the

Evolve or die?Evolve or die may not be the official motto of the UK power industry – but it should be, says negotiator Mike Macdonald as he looks at ways the UK is leading the world in biomass conversion

“This vast investment is vital to the prosperity of all our members at Drax”

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Benevolent fundCHARITABLE support is available for members in the nuclear industry who may find themselves facing hard times financially.

The Nuclear Industry Benevolent Fund provides advice, loans and grants to help people cope with unexpected events that cause serious financial pressure, like illness, bereavement, redundancy or relationship breakdowns.

It can help with things like household repairs, nursery fees or buying school uniforms, and is open to Prospect members who have previously or currently work at the UK Atomic Energy Authority, British Nuclear Fuels, Amersham International and their successor companies.

Eligibility is restricted to non-industrial employees, or all employees in workplaces where single status has been introduced.

Applicants need not be contributors to the fund, and their dependants can also seek help. All applications are means tested.

■■ Find■out■more■at■www.tnibf.org;■email■info@tnibf.org■or■call■01925■633005

IN BRIEFWhat has Europe ever done for us? THE government is currently reviewing its membership of the European Union and analysing what EU policy means for the UK national interest.

Within this umbrella review is a specific call for evidence of the impact EU legislation has on the energy sector.

We need your insight and views for a Prospect submission to the review, which covers a range of issues, including powers to act; security of supply; investment; infrastructure; sustainability; nuclear energy; and future challenges and opportunities.

The online questionnaire is at http://bit.ly/energyeucomp (Deadline for input is 6 Jan 2014.)

No child cancer link to nuclear plantCHILDREN living near nuclear power plants do not have an increased risk of developing leukaemia, a study in the British Journal of Cancer has found.

Experts looked at data on 10,000 children diagnosed under the age of five between 1962 and 2007.

Dr John Bithell, honorary research fellow at the Childhood Cancer Research Group who led the study, said: “The issue has been a concern since the 1980s when an excess of cancer in young people near Sellafield was reported in a television programme.”

Since then, he said, there have been conflicting reports in the UK and Europe. “Our case-control study has considered the birth records for nearly every case of childhood leukaemia born in Britain and, reassuringly, has found no such correlation with proximity to nuclear power plants.”■■ Fuel■is■stored■

in■one■of■four■newly■built■dry■silos,■each■bigger■than■the■Royal■Albert■Hall

knowledge needed to move the burn ratio from a 10 per cent biomass mixture to being the first 660MW turbine fuelled 100 per cent by biomass fuel.

Only by reducing overall carbon emissions can a role for coal in the other 50 per cent of the power station be retained, so this vast investment is vital to the prosperity of all our members at Drax.

Biomass-fuelled generation has its detractors, who point to problems with its indiscriminate use. However fears that it removes forest cover, thereby increasing carbon emissions; reduces food production; and damages local communities reliant on the biomass fuel for heating and construction, need proper investigation.

Certainly Drax is not operating a slash and burn policy without any thought to the environmental impact. At home, it has signed long-term contracts with farmers to guarantee their financial stability and ensure they manage biomass sustainably.

In the US, Drax has invested in handling facilities and manages its supply chain to ensure the production of biomass fuel not only reduces carbon emissions, but improves biodiversity and does not damage local communities.

Sustainable biomass production is just part of a balanced energy policy. But Project Phoenix does show how our members’ expertise and commitment is making a real difference in the drive to clean up electricity generation.

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THE 120 tonnes of plutonium stored at Sellafield could work as an asset and the benefits of recycling it to provide low-carbon energy and highly skilled jobs for the future should be explored.

That was the key message from a seminar that brought together members of the Cumbrian community; local MPs; key industry stakeholders; scientists; new nuclear technology companies and the Sellafield workforce to explore the benefits and the barriers to recycling the UK’s plutonium stockpile.

The event, which took place at the Energus Centre in Cumbria, was organised by the Sellafield Workers’ Campaign, a grassroots organisation formed by the three unions at Sellafield – Prospect, GMB and Unite.

On behalf of the SWC, Prospect Sellafield branch secretary Steve Nicholson explained that part of the drive behind the call for action was the planned closure of the THORP reprocessing plant with the loss of 800 jobs.

The aim now, he said, was to initiate an open and transparent debate about the opportunities for the future, which is why the SWC had launched a blueprint for Sellafield, looking beyond decommissioning and decline.

Putting the benefits of reusing plutonium in context, Nicholson said one gram can provide as much energy as a tonne of oil and by 2020, when the reprocessing facility at Sellafield stops, the stock will have risen to 140 tonnes.

“Drift and delay is no longer an option,” he said, adding

Element 94 – the search for an industrial solution

that the longer the plutonium is left the more difficult it is to store safely. Plus just “babysitting” the store costs the taxpayer £100m per year.

While the technological options under review offer different pros and cons in terms of job opportunities and financial and environmental gains, he stressed that “the SWC believes that building on the existing skills and experience in west Cumbria should be at the heart of any policy for disposition and a low-carbon future.”

Element 94 Plutonium is the element that always generates a controversial conversation, explained Adrian Simper from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in a presentation called “Element 94 – the bringer of peace and security or the harbinger of doom?”

Outlining the history behind the UK’s plutonium stores, and given the lack of a ‘plutonium fairy’, Simper said a series of consultations lead to the NDA’s selection of reuse as mixed oxide fuel (MOX) as its preferred option to date. But two other options are being investigated, with the NDA due to advise ministers in time for a final decision in 2015.

This was because, he said, it is technically mature; light water reactors are the only proposed new build in the UK at present and the process would answer many of the questions regarding environmental, worker safety, security and transport considerations.

The thorny issue of the UK’s plutonium stocks, the world’s largest civilian stockpile, was the focus of an industry seminar which brought together key stakeholders to debate the merits of disposition

■■ Nicholson■–■one■gram■of■plutonium■can■provide■as■much■energy■as■a■tonne■of■oil

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DECC OUTLINES CONSULTATION PROCESS FOR GDFPROSPECT participated in an industry consultation day held by the Department of Energy and Climate Change on the siting process for a geological disposal facility to manage the UK’s radioactive waste.

Plans to look at the feasibility of building a radioactive waste facility in Cumbria were vetoed by the county council earlier this year, despite support from the local district councils. Another potential site for a GDF at Dungeness in Kent was withdrawn in 2012.

David Luxton, Prospect national secretary, was at the DECC event in Warrington on 13 November, which aimed to gather views on how aspects of the process can be revised and improved.

“It was stressed at the industry day that this was not a consultation about whether there should be a GDF. This was about improving the consultation siting process,” said Luxton.

The approach to identifying potential sites will continue to be based on ‘voluntarism and partnership’ – local communities who are willing to participate, work on and host a GDF.

However, the consultation

proposes to provide more information, at an earlier stage in the process, on issues such as geology and socio-economic impacts. There would also be a ‘right of withdrawal’ for interested communities.

The DECC consultation poses eight specific questions, geared towards

representatives of local communities, with the aim of encouraging interested communities to engage more confidently with the process.

However, Luxton warned that it could still be decades before the UK has an operational GDF. International experience suggests that from identifying a site to completion can take up to 30 years.

“The government acknowledges now that it needs to explain the purpose of a GDF and highlight the consequences of not having a long-term

solution for the safe management of the UK’s stockpile of plutonium and other radioactive waste, which continues to be managed through interim storage facilities spread across 31 sites around the country.

“It has been perceived as a ‘Cumbrian’ issue but it affects the whole country,” said Luxton.

But he also raised the problem of ensuring a skilled workforce capable of meeting the long-term challenges remains in place and the need for a joined-up approach across government to ensure the necessary investment in skills development takes place.

Other speakers talked about the research and development work being undertaken by the National Nuclear Laboratory; Sellafield Ltd’s vision for the future; and the approach being taken by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Delegates also heard presentations from three companies offering different technological disposition options – Areva’s proposal to reuse it as MOX in light water reactors; General Electric-Hitachi’s plans for reuse in PRISM fast reactors; and Candu’s proposals for use as CANMOX in Candu reactors.

Summing up the debate, Prospect’s director of communications and research, Sue Ferns, emphasised that the recurrent themes of the day were:

● the need for a coherent, transparent and strategic approach

to nuclear policy ● that plutonium disposition is of national importance ● the potential to secure the UK’s energy capacity and skilled jobs ● the opportunity to regain the UK’s role as a global leader in

nuclear technology.

Cumbria really needs to get on with it, says local MPCOPELAND MP Jamie Reed focused on the economic benefits a new plutonium processing facility, and new nuclear infrastructure, could bring to the area.

“This campaign doesn’t just consist of the workers’ representative groups here today, it consists of the 10,000 workers on site and their families, and the other estimated 5,000 jobs that the Sellafield jobs sustain, and their families too.”

Describing the strike price agreement for nuclear energy as the green light for the first new UK nuclear plant for decades, Reed said a renaissance in nuclear technology was welcome, adding that Cumbria should aspire to “plug ourselves into the global marketplace of

the world’s fastest-growing economy.”

But he described moves by the anti-nuclear lobby earlier in the year to veto investigations into siting a geological disposal facility in the area, as denying Cumbria a secure future.

“Whatever the colour of government, the public spending profile in this country is likely to reduce for the rest of our lives so we need to grow our local private sector.”

Reusing the stockpiles, he

said, would not only release economic benefits but would represent an enormous environmental achievement as well.

“Whichever technology we end up with, it won’t just be a building – this isn’t just a nuclear project, it is one of the single most important projects that anyone will ever be involved in.

“For our interests, and the interests of future Cumbrians to come, we really do need to get on with it.”

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■■ Reed■–■reuse■the■stockpiles■

“It has been perceived as a ‘Cumbrian’ issue but it affects the whole country”

DNO STANDBY OVERVIEW Prospect researcher Jonathan Green looks at the current standby rates for distribution network organisationsIN most cases standby payments are expressed as a retainer fee, however there is an annual allowance at Scottish Power Energy Networks linked to the frequency of rosters (see the table below).

The first table shows the different approaches taken by DNOs; standby arrangements at Electricity North West cover Monday to Friday with a higher payment at the weekend, while other companies include Friday in weekend payments.

There is also a different approach taken to payments for bank holidays and Christmas holidays. Western Power Distribution pays the same daily retainer for weekends and public holidays, with a higher payment for the Christmas holidays including Christmas Day.

Electricity North West has a lower retainer for public holidays when compared with other companies but has the highest standby retainer for Christmas Day, with the exception of UK Power Networks.

Special diverters to save thousands of birdsTHE SKIES above West Lancashire are now safer for thousands of birds thanks to the cunning installation of special flight diverters.

Engineers from Electricity North West have been working with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Martin Mere, a wetland nature reserve, to help raise the visibility of overhead powerlines for the geese and swans which annually migrate to the area.

The project places two types of special markers on the powerlines to try to make them stand out to the large birds, hopefully limiting the collisions and reducing disruption to customer supplies. Over the autumn and winter periods up to 30,000 pink-footed geese and 2,500 whooper swans visit the area.

ENW is sponsoring a Lancaster University student to research the efficiency of the two diverters designs

Scottish Power Energy Networks – standby duty annual allowance payments 2013 rates

Rota■Frequency 01:04 01:05 01:06 01:07 01:08 01:09 01:10 01:11 01:12

Grade EN 4 £7,903 £6,337 £5,293 £4,548 £3,988 £3,552 £3,206 £2,919 £2,683

Grade EN 5 £8,934 £7,162 £5,980 £5,137 £4,504 £4,012 £3,617 £3,294 £3,027

Grade EN 6 & EN7 £10,444 £8,369 £6,987 £5,999 £5,258 £4,682 £4,221 £3,844 £3,531

Emergency■response■payments

Normal working day (Monday to Friday) £39.81

Normal day off (excluding recognised public holidays) £71.11

Recognised public holidays £133.78

with the first tangible results due by the middle of next year. The results

STANDBY RETAINER RATEMon-Thurs Fri,■Sat■and■Sun Bank■Holidays Christmas■Holidays

ELECTRICITY NORTH WEST

£35 (Mon-Fri)

£40 (Sat and Sun only)

£40 £250 Christmas Day

Additional info: Meal interference allowance £5

NORTHERN POWERGRID

£32.26 (50% pensionable)

£64.50 (50% pensionable)

£53.75 Bank holiday premium

(fully pensionable)

£81.37 Christmas Day (fully pensionable)

Additional info: Weekly retainer £322.52 (50% pensionable) bank holiday premium paid in addition to retainer. A minimum three-hour callout payment, the target rota size will be one in eight, though it is recognised that this may not be achievable in the short term.

SCOTTISH POWER NETWORKS – Annualised retainer superannuated (see separate box below)

SCOTTISH & SOUTHERN ENERGY – New rates are currently subject to negotiation

UK POWER NETWORKS (2012 rates)

£79.79 £115.75 £115.75£364.14 (Christmas Day);

£220.29 (Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day)

Additional info: The standby fee covers first hour on a call out, a minimum payment is three hours at the appropriate hourly overtime rate. There are different rates for ring-fenced ex-Seeboard staff.

WESTERN POWER DISTRIBUTION

£36.59 £73.18 £73.18£111.30 (Christmas Eve, Christmas

Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day)

Additional info: A minimum payment of three hours at standard premium overtime rates.

could be used throughout the North West.

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