Jul. 12--National Grid could be described as the backbone of the British energy system. It provides the high-voltage electricity transmission network and all the main pipes for the UK's gas network, enabling companies ranging from British Gas to npower to supply homes and businesses with the energy they need.

National Grid also supplies gas in some regions and it handles emergency call-outs when consumers smell gas leaks.

The company has a separate role forecasting the country's energy needs on an hourly, daily, weekly and even yearly basis and relaying that information to the energy companies and the Government.

The men's Wimbledon final, Britain's Got Talent or a cliffhanger episode of Coronation Street can influence electricity use just as easily as cold winters and long nights. National Grid even has forecasts going out to 2030, which help inform Ministers" thinking on climate change and energy conservation.

The company has an overseas arm as well. Following a series of acquisitions over the past decade, it is the second-biggest gas and electricity company in the US, providing the infrastructure and supplying electricity and gas to eight million customers in New York and New England.

In fact, half of its turnover comes from America, which gives it a useful spread of businesses and is particularly helpful when the dollar is strong against sterling, as now.

The company is regulated by Ofgem in terms of the money spent on investment and the amount charged to gas and electricity customers. These figures are fixed over a five-year period and the last regulatory review was in 2007, so the company can predict most of its turnover until 2012. In the most recent results, pre-tax profits for the year to March 31 fell three per cent to £1.8 billion, after financing costs rose to account for a major acquisition in the US.

Nonetheless, the core business performed well and chief executive Steve Holliday is confident about the coming year.

Reflecting this confidence, the dividend rose eight per cent to 35.64p and it is forecast to increase by the same amount annually until 2012. Analysts reckon that profits will increase by more than 12 per cent to £2.1 billion next year.

National Grid performs a vital role in the UK and in the north-east of America. When it does its job well, nobody notices -- but if its systems were to fail, everyone would suffer. The company spends more than £3 billion a year updating infrastructure and making sure pipes and cables are strong and robust.