Energy secretary calls for investigation in power outage near Heathrow

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has ordered the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to “urgently investigate” the power outage caused by a substation fire that shut Heathrow Airport on Friday.

The investigation by the operator of Britain’s electricity grid would build a “clear picture of the circumstances surrounding this incident” and the UK’s “energy resilience more broadly” to prevent it “from ever happening again”, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said.

“We are determined to properly understand what happened and what lessons need to be learned,” Miliband said.

The fire at the North Hyde substation in west London that supplies power to the airport led to thousands of cancelled flights and stranded passengers across the world.

Miliband said he has commissioned the investigation to “understand any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure, both now and in the future”.

NESO is expected to report to the power regulator Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in six weeks with its initial findings.