National Grid’s chief executive has insisted the network was capable of feeding enough power to Heathrow throughout the airport’s closure on Friday.
On Friday Europe’s busiest airport was brought to a standstill due to a substation inferno, leaving thousands stranded, hundreds of flights cancelled as well as 100 nearby residents evacuated
John Pettigrew said two substations were working throughout and could have serviced the airport.
“There was no lack of capacity,” Pettigrew told the Financial Times.
“Each substation individually can provide enough power toHeathrow.”
“Two substations were always available for the distribution network companies and Heathrow to take power,”
The energy boss said it is a “question for Heathrow” as to why it decided to put operations on pause.
“Losing a substation is a unique event — but there were two others available,” he said, adding “that is a level of resilience.”
The airport was closed for almost 24 hours, stoking anger from airlines.
Passengers queue to check-in bags in departures at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport (Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire)Heathrow said while it was capable of running normally with power from two substations, it had to “reconfigure” networks to safely switch between outlets.
Heathrow chief Thomas Woldbye appeared to shift some of the blame on to the power industry, saying the airport would assess if it needed “a different level of resilience if we cannot trust that the grid around us is working the way it should”.
National Grid owns and operates substations around Heathrow, where electricity is sent, before being distributed to homes and business.
After Hayes substation fire, National Grid said it is “deeply sorry.”
In a statement it said: “Since this unprecedented fire broke out at our North Hyde substation late on Thursday night, our teams have worked tirelessly and in close collaboration with the fire brigade and police to get the situation back under control.
“Power supplies have been restored to all customers, including Heathrow, allowing operations to resume at Heathrow.We are deeply sorry for the disruption caused and are continuing to work closely with the government, Heathrow and the police to understand the cause of the incident.”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband ordered the National Energy System Operator to “urgently investigate” the power outage in a bid build a clear picture of the circumstances surrounding this incident.
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