Cliff Notes
- A report reveals that a catastrophic equipment failure at North Hyde Substation, caused by moisture, triggered a 16-hour power outage at Heathrow Airport, affecting over 270,000 passengers.
- Two key opportunities to prevent the failure were missed, including a warning in 2018 about elevated moisture levels in equipment, which went unaddressed due to inadequate response protocols.
- The incident resulted in significant financial losses and raised questions about the resilience of the UK’s infrastructure, prompting an investigation by Ofgem into the National Grid’s maintenance practices.
‘Catastrophic failure’ that led to Heathrow power outage revealed – as report outlines missed chances to prevent it | UK News
A power outage that shut Heathrow Airport earlier this year, causing travel chaos for more than 270,000 passengers, was caused by a “catastrophic failure” of equipment in a nearby substation, according to a new report.
Experts say the fire at the North Hyde Substation, which supplies electricity to Heathrow, started following the failure of a high-voltage electrical insulator known as a bushing – “most likely” caused by moisture entering the equipment – before spreading.
Two chances were missed that could have prevented the failure, according to the report, the first in 2018 when a higher-than-expected level of moisture was found in oil samples.