Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has ordered an urgent investigation into a power outage caused by a substation fire, which led to Heathrow Airport’s closure on Friday. The investigation, conducted by the National Energy System Operator (NESO), aims to understand the incident and strengthen the UK’s energy resilience.
The fire at the North Hyde substation, located in west London and supplying power to the airport, caused over 16,300 homes to lose electricity. Thousands of flights were cancelled, leaving passengers stranded globally. Although counter-terrorism officers are involved, the incident is not being treated as suspicious.
Heathrow resumed operations on Saturday morning, adding 50 flights to accommodate an additional 10,000 passengers. However, numerous flights were still delayed or cancelled. In response to the crisis, former Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly will conduct a review of Heathrow’s response and crisis management strategies.
Miliband stressed the importance of learning from the incident for the resilience of the country’s critical national infrastructure. NESO is expected to submit its initial findings to the energy regulator Ofgem and the government in six weeks.
Heathrow’s CEO, Thomas Woldbye, explained that the fire disabled the substation and its backup, while two other substations had to be manually activated, causing delays. He expressed support for the investigation and reiterated the airport’s commitment to ensuring passenger safety during the unprecedented disruption.
