Energy Secretary orders investigation into Heathrow’s confusion
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband ordered an investigation into the closure of Heathrow.
In a statement posted online, he said:
The loss of power in the Heathrow region has caused great disruption for thousands of people and many businesses. We are determined to properly understand what happened and what lessons we need to learn.
So, in partnership with Ofgem, I asked NESO today to conduct an investigation into this particular incident and understand the broader lessons to learn about the energy resilience of important national infrastructures today and in the future.
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The National Energy Systems Operator (NESO), investigating power outages, said it was “welcome to the government committee.”
In a statement, NESO CEO Fintan Sly said: “We will work with all relevant stakeholders to understand the lessons we can learn to improve the future resilience of the UK energy system.”
Department Energy Security and Net Zero said they hope NESO will report their initial findings within six weeks.
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Heathrow’s CEO gave the government a response by commissioning an independent investigation into the fire at the substation that caused the chaos yesterday.
Thomas Walby said the airport welcomed NESO investigation and added: “We are committed to supporting every effort to understand the causes and impact of yesterday’s out-of-air incident and working closely with all stakeholders to ensure a thorough investigation to strengthen the airport’s future resilience.”
Ed Miliband ordered the National Energy Systems operators to “urgently investigate” the outage.
Previously, Woldbye defended airport driving.
This is when Heathrow criticized the confusion by Willie Walsh, director of the International Air Transport Association, during his energy secretary.
Heathrow Airport shares after a fire at a nearby electrical system wiped out the airport’s electricity. Photo: Isabel Toddler/Walking through Terminal 2 at Heathrow International Airport in west London. Photo: Isabel Toddler/Reuters Shaleagal walks through Terminal 2 at Heathrow International Airport the day after a fire at a nearby electric substation wiped out electricity at the airport, people are holding balloons. Photo: Isabel Toddler/Reuters Share
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband previously reported that he ordered the National Energy Systems operator to “urgently investigate” the power outage caused by the fire at a substation that closed Heathrow Airport on Friday.
He is working with OFGEM to formally launch an investigation into grid operators using power under the Energy Act.
“We are pleased to announce that Akshay Kaul, Director of Infrastructure at Ofgem, we are pleased to announce that:
“Homestic and businesses should be able to be confident in the resilience of critical national infrastructure. OFGEM will work with the government and others to ensure that NESO reviews will be implemented as much as possible to ensure that they will have steps to avoid repeated incidents of this magnitude in the future.
“We will not hesitate to take action as long as the review finds a violation of standard or license obligations.”
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Updated with 12.58 EDT
The queue at Heathrow on Saturday was not significantly longer than usual.
Heathrow passengers said buying flights on one booking helped them avoid the worst confusion that occurred when a nearby fire closed the airport on Friday.
Rob Walford, 74, told PA:
“We were planning on going on a flight to San Diego after the night, so obviously we didn’t.
“But the cleverest thing we did was to take the tram to the airport with nice and rebook us the first time this morning, otherwise we would not be here.
“The British Airways desk sorted it out. We have flights that weren’t cancelled this morning, so it’s good now.”
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A woman who accompanied her on a school trip from the US said the cancellation of a flight at Heathrow on Saturday brought a “stressing” end to their trip.
Speaking at the airport, 50-year-old Christine Eckles told PA News Agency:
“We need to work on how to get a new flight with British Airways.”
Ms Eckles, who is accompanying Iowa students, added:
“We were at the end of our trip and had a great time in London and Paris. Everyone is ready to go home and return for spring break.”
ShareSammy Gecsoyler
Chirp birds and unbroken skies are not Harmondsworth, which is under the Heathrow flight path, but become standard in many British villages. But Friday was different.
“It was peace and tranquility,” said Andrew Melville, 72, who lived in a village that surrounds the London-Berkshire border for 49 years. “Don’t wake up from a transatlantic flight, especially early in the morning.”
One of the busiest things in the world, the travel hub stopped on Friday morning after a fire at the current substation in Hayes, west London. More than 1,300 flights have been grounded and counterterrorism police have launched an investigation into the cause of the flames.
The airport closures have caused travel misery for many, but those living nearby are given rare rest from roaring planes that shatter the fantasies of village life.
“We usually have early morning calls and late nights,” Melville said. “A day like today is bliss, because we can live our normal lives.”
The last time the villagers saw the sky was when they saw this clear sky. “They were terrible, but this village was great back then, people ride around, bike bikes, hear about birds.
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Energy Secretary orders investigation into Heathrow’s confusion
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband ordered an investigation into the closure of Heathrow.
In a statement posted online, he said:
The loss of power in the Heathrow region has caused great disruption for thousands of people and many businesses. We are determined to properly understand what happened and what lessons we need to learn.
So, in partnership with Ofgem, I asked NESO today to conduct an investigation into this particular incident and understand the broader lessons to learn about the energy resilience of important national infrastructures today and in the future.
Share
The day’s overview
It was 3:30pm in London. Here is a summary of the latest developments covered today.
Heathrow’s CEO Thomas Woldbye defended the airport’s driving after a fire at an electrical substation stopped about 1,300 planes and disrupts the journey of hundreds of thousands of world passengers. Willie Walsh, director of the International Air Transport Association, came after Heathrow criticized the confusion. “This is another case of Heathrow dropping both travelers and airlines,” Walsh said.
Heathrow Airport said flights resumed on Saturday morning after yesterday’s blackout, making the airport “fully operational.” It also added that hundreds of additional staff members have been drafted to clear the flight’s backlog. The airport also confirmed that it added 50 slots to its Saturday schedule to promote an extra 10,000 passengers traveling through the airport.
The closure of Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport due to a fire at a nearby current substation, dominated the front page of British newspapers on Saturday. The Friday closure is considered to be the worst disruption at Heathrow since December 2010.
National Grid apologised for the disruption caused by the blackout that closed Heathrow Airport on Friday. In a statement released on X, National Grid said he was “deeply sorry,” and would work closely with the government, Heathrow and police to “understand the cause of the incident.”
Several airlines have announced that they will be rebooting scheduled flights at both Heathrow Airport, including British Airways (BA), Air Canada, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Malaysia Airlines and Air India. The BA said it is expected to operate around 85% of its scheduled flights on Saturday.
“It’s good to see Heathrow Airport return to full operation this morning,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in a social media post. She added that the Transportation Department will lift restrictions on night flights and have the flexibility to use it to help passengers to facilitate backlogs and train tickets.
Metropolitan Police counterterrorism officers have led an investigation into the cause of the Hayes fire, but this did not result in a casualty on the scene. “After the initial assessment, we have not treated the incident as suspicious, but inquiries remain ongoing,” CMDR Simon Messinger said.
David O’Mand, former head of the government’s communications headquarters (GCHQ), said he was surprised by the length of the closure at Heathrow Airport. Talking to the BBC, Omand described it as “national embarrassment.”
Yesterday, Downing Street said there were “questions to answer” after electric currents closed the airport, halted more than 1,350 flights and disrupt the journey of hundreds of thousands of passengers.
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Updated with 11.58 EDT
Like the chaos at Heathrow Airport, travelling to the airport via the M25 faces diversion of travel. This also affects driving to other locations such as Gatwick Airport via the M25. Junctions 10 and 11 directions will be closed from March 21st to 24th.
Work will begin at 9pm on March 21st and complete by 6am on March 24th.
Notifications on the British Airways website advised you to allow extra time and plan ahead for your trip to the airport.
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Updated with 11.22 EDT
Virgin Atlantic said on Saturday it planned to implement a “full schedule with limited cancellations” the day after Heathrow Airport was closed due to “unprecedented” power losses caused by a substation fire.
In a statement posted to X, Virgin Atlantic wrote:
Heathrow Airport has reopened completely and is set to run a near-full schedule today with limited cancellations.
The impact on today’s flight programme was the result of yesterday’s airport closures and a fire at a nearby current substation. This includes relocating aircraft and crew members.
We are very sorry that your trip is confusing. We are working to ensure that affected customers can complete their journey as quickly as possible. ”
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