The “cascading failure” which saw a single fire knock out power at Heathrow Airport has revealed major vulnerability in the UK’s critical infrastructure, experts have warned.
Industry chiefs were shocked at the lack of an alternative power supply at the airport after a blaze at nearby electricity substation caused total shutdown and travel chaos around the world.
Energy and planning experts told The i Paper that there were major questions to answer for Heathrow, the National Grid and the Government over the lack preparedness.
Labour is now facing calls to invest more in energy upgrades and enforce new standards for the operators running the nation’s critical infrastructure.
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It follows repeated warnings from the UK security agencies that key infrastructure is under growing threat from state-aligned groups and increasing aggressive cyber activity.
The cause of the fire at the North Hyde electricity substation is not yet known, but Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism police are investigating whether there was deliberate disruption.
Although the cause of the fire is unlikely to be known for some time – with theories ranging from an electrical fault to possible sabotage by Russia – it raises questions about the UK’s resilience when things go wrong.
Lord Toby Harris, chair of the National Preparedness Commission (NPC) – an independent body looking at the UK’s readiness for multiple crises – told The i Paper that “we need to query if there is any hostile state involvement” in the incident which shut down Heathrow on Friday.
“The second question is: why is Heathrow so dependent on the output of one substation? I’m surprised that there was this degree of vulnerability.”
He said there “clearly needs to be lessons learned” by both Heathrow and the National Grid on alternative power supply routes.
Lord Harris added: “We have to recognise we’re moving into a new world where we may seem more cyber-attacks and physical assaults on infrastructure, and the [National] Grid needs to take the appropriate level of precautions.
“The Government is taking this seriously – we will always argue we could be doing more. There are lots of areas we could be doing more.”
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said it was astonishing that it appeared infrastructure “of national and global importance is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative”.
“If that is the case – as it seems – then it is a clear planning failure by the airport,” Walsh added.
Responding to criticism, a spokesperson for Heathrow said its back-up power systems had worked “as expected” – but admitted that they were “not designed to allow us to run a full operation”.
Heathrow was set to restart flights later on Friday after the National Grid said an “interim solution” had been found to allow power to be restored to the west London airport by late afternoon.
Phil Hewitt, director at The Montel Group energy analysis group, told the BBC that it was “worrying” that Heathrow appeared to have only one connection to the local energy network through the North Hyde substation.
Tim Leunig, director of economics at the Public First business management consultancy, said: “The problem is not Heathrow’s – it is the problem of the suppliers of electricity. There are major questions for them to answer.
“You should not have to shut your major national airport if there’s a fire at one substation. It may be that you need another substation [to provide power to Heathrow].”
Prof Richard Dawson, of Newcastle University’s School of Engineering, said the Heathrow event had “exposed” the weakness in UK infrastructure to “cascading failure”: disruption in one key area affecting lots of others.
Dr Barry Hayes, an associate professor in electrical power systems at University College Cork, said the UK power grid was “generally old” and “outdated”, with many of its components “in urgent need of upgrading”.
In 2023, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) recommended the Government brings in new standards for energy, water, transport and digital infrastructure. The advisory body also highlighted major gaps in current standards in a report in September 2024.
NIC chair Sir John Armitt said the Heathrow power failure “highlights the need for infrastructure operators to be fully prepared for dealing with short term shocks”, as he urged Labour ministers to act on its recommendations.
Sam Gould, director of policy at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), said the UK’s critical infrastructure “faces a lot of challenges”. He said the approach to maintenance “has been reactive and based on repair” rather than see the benefits of proactive investment.
ICE has called on the Government to conduct a review of the economic cost of investing in upgrades and resilience planning – so both Whitehall departments and private operators recognise “what it will cost us if we do nothing”.
Asked if he would like to see the Government commit more money to infrastructure resilience at the upcoming spending review, Lord Harris of the NPC told The i Paper: “I would.”
Dr Robin Preece, reader in future power systems at the University of Manchester, said there may be a case for building more substations.
Households currently pay for any expansion in the network of substations run by both the National Grid and private energy companies through their energy bills, said Dr Preece.
But the transition towards net zero and the shift away from gas would mean “massive amounts of electrification”, Dr Preece said, so the Government may have to help fund the expansion.
It come as security experts said officials would want to assess whether Russia or another “hostile” state could be behind the fire which hit Heathrow’s power supply.
Will Geddes, director and founder of the International Corporate Protection Group, told the MailOnline that it was “not outside the scope of a foreign hostile state to attack a substation”.
Security sources told The i Paper that the canals next to the North Hyde substation were a huge point of vulnerability to potential attacks – with access to sensitive sites along the canal side, as well as offering routes in and out of London.
There are also security concerns about the airport’s back-up systems. One source said “that resilience of Heathrow has been tested many times in recent years and this represents a major failure”.
Heathrow, the National Grid and the Government have been approached for comment.
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