According to the head of the National Grid, there was sufficient electricity to keep Heathrow operational throughout the entirety of its closure on Friday.
In his first remarks since the North Hyde substation was shut down due to a fire, National Grid CEO John Pettigrew stated that two other substations providing power to Heathrow were functional and able to meet the airport’s energy demands to remain operational.
“There was no deficiency in capacity from the substations,” he conveyed to the Financial Times. “Each substation can independently supply enough energy to Heathrow.”
When asked to comment on Pettigrew’s statement, transport secretary Heidi Alexander noted on Monday that the issue extended beyond just available power, explaining that Heathrow’s chief executive had informed her of other significant challenges at terms two and four, necessitating a complete shutdown and reboot of their systems.
“He clarified that there were substantial complications within those terminals, and based on the need to turn off everything and restart all systems, they decided to close the airport until midnight Friday,” she told Sky News. “However, they successfully restored power, allowing planes to start landing around 4 PM that day.”
Alexander added that backup generators were available, but they were primarily intended to safeguard critical airport systems rather than power the entire facility.
An investigation into the airport’s closure has been commissioned by the government, which had returned to its normal operations by Sunday. The downtime is projected to have incurred costs of £60 million to £70 million for the airline sector and affected over 200,000 travelers globally.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband expressed that the government is “committed to thoroughly understanding what occurred and identifying the lessons to be learned” concerning the Heathrow incident and the UK’s energy security regarding vital national infrastructure.
Pettigrew emphasized that two substations were always ready and available for the distribution network companies and Heathrow to draw power. He remarked that the decision of how to respond was ultimately for Heathrow to determine.
“Losing a substation is an unusual occurrence, but two others were at hand, demonstrating a degree of resilience,” he explained.
In response to Pettigrew’s statements, a Heathrow representative commented: “As the National Grid’s chief executive pointed out, he has never witnessed a transformer failure of this nature in his three decades in the industry. His assessment reinforces that this was an unprecedented event and that uninterrupted operation at Heathrow would have been impossible.”
“Heathrow’s extensive and intricate operational systems necessitated a safe shutdown and a careful, systematic reboot. Given the airport’s scale and complexity, restoring operations after such a disruption posed a considerable challenge.”
On the day of the incident, Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, indicated that the airport’s backup systems “functioned as intended” and remarked to reporters outside the airport that the power infrastructure at Heathrow was a “bit of a weak point.”
The following day, he told the BBC that while the airport had access to additional substations, “transitioning to them requires time,” and he praised the response of Heathrow staff to the fire incident.
“The situation was not initiated at Heathrow airport, and we had to manage the fallout,” he stated. “I’m not aware of any airport possessing a backup supply that can activate within minutes to address a situation of this scale. The same would likely apply at other airports.”
Pettigrew revealed that the fire had damaged all three transformers at the North Hyde substation, which firefighters indicated had consumed 25,000 liters of cooling oil—a figure that includes one transformer that served as a backup and was positioned farther away from the other two.
He also noted that the specific cause of the fire remains undetermined, as temperatures at the site are still too high for thorough forensic investigation, leaving open the possibility of third-party involvement. “In my over 30 years in the industry, I can’t recall a transformer failing like this,” Pettigrew remarked.
The initial investigation was spearheaded by counter-terrorism officers from the Metropolitan Police; however, they have ruled out any suspicious elements surrounding the blaze. The inquiry is now under the auspices of the London fire brigade, focusing on the electrical distribution equipment.
When questioned about why a facility constructed in the 1960s was designed so that a single fire could incapacitate all three transformers, Pettigrew replied: “Substations must be built within the available space while taking all possible precautions to mitigate risks. However, this is clearly something that will be more thoroughly examined during the investigation.”
The post National Grid CEO Reveals Heathrow Had Power Options Despite Fire, Sparking Questions on Airports Decision to Close first appeared on London.
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Author : London News
Publish date : 2025-03-24 10:04:00
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