You may be aware that climate change is a hot topic at the moment, with a very important climate conference being held in Glasgow, called COP26.  

COP stands for Conference of the Parties. Around the world, governments are trying to make their countries take steps to stop the harmful impact of climate change.

COP26 is a huge event that is bringing these world leaders together with science experts and leading companies, to agree the best way to tackle this issue and reach net zero – that’s where there’s a zero balance between the amount of greenhouse gases being put into the atmosphere and those taken out.

The 26 is because it’s the 26^th time they’ve held the conference.  The very first was in Berlin in 1995.

So, COP26 is the 26th Conference of the Parties!

One of the energy companies involved is National Grid. It’s a UK company that’s one of the world’s largest energy companies. 

National Grid is responsible for taking high voltage ‘raw’ energy from producers such as wind turbine and solar farms, as well as from power stations and gas refineries that are located across the UK, and carry it around the country using a network of cables, pipes, pylons and wires to where it’s needed – our towns and cities, industrial areas and transport links.

It’s kind of like the veins and arteries in our bodies – helping to get blood and oxygen to where they’re needed.

And to make sure there’s always enough for everyone – wherever they live and work, National Grid’s control rooms work to balance supply and demand. 

National Grid doesn’t deliver electricity or gas to our front doors – that’s done by local operators who deliver energy into our homes, schools and places of work through their own network of pipes and cables.  But before they can do that, they have to lower the voltage of the electricity or the pressure of the gas so that its ready to use. It’s also these local operators that make the charges for the amount of energy you use.

As well as distributing energy, National Grid is working towards a clean energy future – a ‘net zero future’. As well as connecting up more renewable forms of energy, it also shares green electricity with Europe via huge undersea cables called ‘interconnectors’.  When the UK creates more energy than we need, we will export it to other countries. And when we can’t create enough ourselves, we will import it.

National Grid has an enormous job to do – and also a very important one too. After all, we really rely on energy – whether to live, work or play, keep our hospitals, schools, homes and transport networks all running, while you keep warm and able to check your messages!

And we all need to do our part to help stop the negative impact on the planet.

National Grid knows that to deliver results, working together is really important.  Whether that’s helping young people become tomorrow’s problem solvers, supporting customers to use energy efficiently or helping tackle global climate change at events like COP26, they’re looking to help make positive changes. 

National Grid is a leading company that looks after the transmission and distribution of electricity and gas, connecting millions of people to the energy they use safely, reliably and efficiently.

And they would like to know your thoughts about how we generate, distribute and use energy. If you have any ideas or an energy question you’d like to know the answer to, then please fill out the form below.

Click HERE to find out more about Grid for Good, and National Grid