Glossary

ACM

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is an independent public regulator whose tasks include oversight of compliance with the Gas Act and the Electricity Act 1998.

A- rating

The rating score of a company, or 'rating', is an assessment of its credit rating in the form of a 'mark'. Ratings are awarded by specialised agencies.

CAIDI

The Customer Average Interruption Duration Index is the average duration of an unforeseen interruption of electricity supply per customer affected.

CAPEX and OPEX

Capex are the Capital Expenditures, the costs related to developing and supplying our products and services. Opex are the Operating Expenditures, the operational costs to enable our business operations.

CDMA

Code Division Multiple Access is a telecommunications network for transmitting information across a wireless radio connection using spread spectrum techniques.

Congestion

Congestion occurs when a grid has insufficient capacity to transmit all electricity generated and purchased. In Congestion management, price mechanisms and market forces are used to manage demand and supply. This is called flexibility.

Corporate governance

Corporate governance concerns relations between the board of management, the supervisory board and the general meeting of shareholders. Good entrepreneurship (ethical and transparent conduct by the board of management) and effective supervision (including reporting on it) are key principles of corporate governance.

CGC

Corporate Governance Code. Good governance of a company protects the interests of shareholders, employees and other stakeholders. Rules of conduct for this are set out in the Corporate Governance Code. Listed companies are required to comply with this code by law. Stedin Group adheres to the CGC insofar as possible and applicable.

Commercial or non-regulated activities

These are the activities of Stedin Group that are subject to competition and are offered at the customer's request.

ETPA

Energy Trading Platform Amsterdam is an independent energy trading platform.

Flexibility

If a grid has insufficient capacity to transit all electricity generated and purchased, we deploy congestion management. In congestion management, price mechanisms and market forces are used to manage supply and demand (flexibility).

FFO – Net debt ratio

Funds from Operations (FFO) comprises revenue minus costs, taxes and interest expense, adjusted on the basis of the S&P method. Net debt ratio is the total of current and non-current debt, including adjustments for the hybrid loan and pension liabilities, minus the total of (free) cash and cash equivalents at year-end. Both are calculated on the basis of the financial information of Stedin Group.

Flexibility

Smart matching of electricity supply and demand to avoid peak load.

FTE

Full-time equivalent. Equivalent of the number of employees in full-time employment.

Regulated market

The activities of the grid manager that arise from the tasks that are exclusively reserved for the grid manager and for which maximum rates are set by the ACM. They include:

• installing, maintaining, modernising and managing connections to the electricity grid with a rated capacity up to 10 MVA;
• building, maintaining, modernising and managing electricity as well as gas grids;
• transmitting gas and electricity;
• safeguarding the safety and reliability of the grids in an effective manner;
• promoting safety in using equipment and installations that consume electricity as well as gas;
• facilitating the free market to enable customers to switch to a different energy supplier.

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service. This technology is an addition to the GSM network and can be used to send and receive mobile data quickly and reliably.

GRI

Global Reporting Initiative. The internationally applied standards for sustainability reporting, in which an organisation reports publicly on its economic, environmental and social performance.

IFRS

International Financial Reporting Standards. Set of reporting rules issued by the IASB. Stedin Group complies with these reporting rules, which were drawn up to harmonise financial reporting at an international level.

<IR> Framework

Integrated reporting is an extensive framework for business and investment decisions that are long-term, inclusive and purpose-oriented.

kV

Kilovolt (kV) is a unit of voltage equal to 1,000 volts.

LTE-M meter

An LTE-M meter communicates via the LTE technology instead of the GPRS or CDMA technology. LTE is short for Long Term Evolution and is the generic term for the 4G network.

LTI

Lost Time Injury. An LTI is an event that results in absence from work for more than one working day or shift – for instance, an accident in a workshop. Work carried out by and accidents of third parties are not included.

LTIR

Lost Time Injury Rate. Number of lost-time incidents per million hours worked.

Grid capacity and transmission capacity

Both terms are synonymous and refer to capacity in the grid.

Network losses

Network losses arise during the distribution of electricity. The greater the distance, the greater the loss. Network losses can also be caused by fraud and administrative losses (in the allocation and reconciliation process as well as the administrative process).

Net investments

Gross investments less customer construction contributions received from third parties.

NOC

Network Operations Center. Stedin's modernised control centre that monitors Stedin's service area 24/7.

PIE

A PIE is a Public Interest Entity. These are organisations that, due to their size or function in social and economic life, affect the interests of comparatively large groups.

OR

Works Council This is a body that consists of members of the works councils of the various business units of Stedin Group.

Regional Energy Strategy (RES)

Each region develops its own energy strategy in order to implement the measures for electricity and the built environment in the Climate Agreement. Examples are the regional generation of sustainable energy as well as plans to match supply and demand.

BoM

Board of Management. The board of management is the most senior executive body of an organisation. A board of management is responsible for the strategic management of the entity.

SB

Supervisory Board The supervisory board in the Netherlands is the supervisory body of public limited liability companies and private limited liability companies.

RIF

Recordable Incident Frequency. The number of occupational accidents per 200,000 hours worked.

Remuneration report

The remuneration report is a report on the remuneration of the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board. The remuneration policy of Stedin Group is prepared by the Selection, Appointments and Remuneration Committee of the Supervisory Board.

Petajoule (PJ)

That is 1 thousand trillion joules, and 1 petajoule is sufficient to supply energy to around 15,000 households for a full year.

SAIDI

System Average Interruption Duration Index. The annual average downtime: the average duration for which a customer is not supplied with electricity due to unforeseen interruptions (in minutes).

SAIFI

System Average Interruption Frequency Index. The interruption frequency: the average number of unforeseen interruptions with which customers are faced on an annual basis.

SDGs

Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of goals for future international development. They have been formulated by the United Nations and are promoted as the global goals for sustainable development.

Smart meter

A smart meter enables the grid manager to read the meter for both electricity and gas from a distance, as well as the meter status information. The smart meter can also carry out instructions sent remotely, such as connecting or disconnecting a customer. Communication with the meter takes place via the cable network (Power Line Communication), via GPRS or via the CDMA network. The use of the smart meter should lead to energy savings.

Solvency

Equity plus profit or loss for the period less expected dividend distributions for the current financial year divided by the balance sheet total, adjusted for the expected dividend distribution, long-term portion of connection contributions received in advance and free cash and cash equivalents.

Voltage quality

The voltage at a connection to the electricity grid is required to be of a specific quality. Good voltage quality is important, for instance to ensure the continued proper operation of equipment.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are individuals and groups that have an interest in a variety of ways in Stedin Group, such as employees, shareholders, customers, capital providers, suppliers, government and media.

Shortage of transmission capacity

Shortage of transmission capacity is shortage in the national and regional electricity grids due to the growth in large-scale solar farms and the growing demand for electricity in the Netherlands.

VIAG

The Natural Gas Safety Instructions (VIAG) for energy companies, in conjunction with the annexes and operational safety instructions, provide a set of uniform rules for the safe operation of gas production systems of grid managers.