Big interview


Left: National Grid has been coy about its plans in the event that energy demands outstrip supply.


Opposite page: Andy Agg, CFO at National Grid.


January, this caution feels wise. Yet, speak to Agg for long, and it’s obvious his role involves far more than keeping the lights on – either literally or metaphorically. From pushing deals to promoting sustainability, Agg is typical of the modern CFO: engaged, proactive and ambitious. That he’s also a large cog in Britain’s energy machine is almost incidental.


Grid system


National Grid has been a staple of British life for nearly a century. In 1935, Stanley Baldwin unveiled a system covering seven grid areas across the country, which two years later were pruned down to just one. Of course, much has happened since those sepia- tinged beginnings. In 1990, the company was privatised, with National Grid today one of the biggest investor-owned utility firms on earth. A decade later, the company entered the American market, and now owns 72,000 miles of electric distribution lines across New York and New England. Nor did it show any sign of slowing as the millennium turned. In 2007, for example, National Grid US acquired Keyspan Corporation, a major natural gas distributor. Less than a decade later, it scooped up Geronimo Energy, a leading clean energy company. Now boasting some 28,000 staff and assets worth around £65bn, this is clearly an organisation that has shifted with the times – a point Agg happily reiterates. “It’s a business and a sector that has been through a huge amount of change,” he says of his 14 years at National Grid, adding that’s as clear in his own office as for his employer at large. As so often in the finance space, these revolutions can be encapsulated in a single word: digitalisation. By exploiting new data analysis tools, Agg and his team are providing fresh insights for National Grid’s monthly reviews and


Finance Director Europe / www.financedirectoreurope.com


reports. That’s echoed by specific advances too. Partnering with Workiva, an American compliance platform, the organisation standardised its end-to-end statutory reporting processes – no mean feat given they’re shared between 26 different entities. These and similar shifts have undoubtedly made the finance function at National Grid more dynamic. But Agg stresses they go far beyond backroom tinkering. “Ultimately, finance is part of a broader set of business processes,” he says, emphasising he’s constantly working to ensure his team is “at the heart” of every decision his employer makes. Take even a cursory glance at National Grid’s website and it’s easy to guess what that could entail. By 2050, after all, the company hopes to cut its direct greenhouse gas emissions to zero. That’s shadowed by a flurry of specific environmental tweaks, from backing renewables to electrifying service vehicles. At the same time, National Grid is investing heavily in network infrastructure – including a £54bn package that represents the biggest such outlay since the 1950s.


It’s a gas


In the C-suite hierarchy, CFOs have sometimes played a less public role than chief executives, and are generally less likely to pop their heads above the corporate parapet. But, earlier this year, Andy Agg became a National Grid star. In March, he was central in orchestrating the sale of the company’s gas transmission business. “I was very focused as CFO in the overall process,” Agg says, “working with our advisors and many others across the company.” In the event, the deal will reportedly net National Grid £4.2bn. Yet the transaction represents far more than just a financial windfall. Together with the related purchase of Western Power Distribution, one of the UK’s largest


72,000


The number of miles of electric distribution lines owned by National Grid US across New York and New England.


National Grid US 4,200


The number of street lights National Grid US helped replace with energy-efficient alternatives in the New York town of Schenectady.


City of Schenectady, NY 11


National Grid


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