22 Apr 2020
Covid-19 pandemic business update 22 April
Keeping electricity flowing
Our renewable energy projects across the country form part of critical national infrastructure and are generating electricity as usual. Engineers continue to maintain and operate our wind farms and hydro sites to keep essential electricity flowing. The safety of staff, contractors and the wider community is of paramount importance. We are working closely with our delivery partners to ensure their employees are able to work safely themselves and protect the communities they operate in, following government advice and industry guidelines.
Doing business remotely
Office-based staff continue to work remotely, phone lines are open and levels of service are normal. The pipeline of new renewable energy projects remains strong and we plan to offer further opportunities to invest directly into renewables in the future.
Providing help to our communities
We have voluntarily put in place financial support for communities close to our sites and launched an initiative to purchase Thrive Bonds from people in financial difficulties. Click here for the full story.
“We have adapted our working practices and are able to operate normally as a business, generating the electricity we need to power our country. However, we want to do more at this exceptionally difficult time, so we’ve committed £24,000 from our Community Benefit Programme to provide hardship support to communities close to our wind farms and hydro sites. We have also put in place a scheme to purchase Thrive Bonds back from investors who wish to release the money they have invested quickly because their financial situation has changed as a result of the lock down.”
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting impact on the global energy markets, we felt it necessary to review the Directors’ Valuation, resulting in a 2% decrease to £2.23 per share. Full details of the review can be found here.
“As a business we are fortunate to be able to continue operating effectively, but only because of the amazing work of health and care professionals looking after the sick and vulnerable and other key workers, like our engineers, who maintain vital infrastructure and supply chains. We would like to humbly thank them for their work and promise we will continue to work tirelessly to bring about a cleaner, brighter future when this crisis passes.”