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UK energy watchdog demands answers after major power cut UK energy watchdog demands answers after major power cut
(32 minutes later)
The energy watchdog, Ofgem, is demanding answers from the National Grid after a major power cut caused travel chaos and cut electricity to almost 1 million people in England and Wales. The energy watchdog, Ofgem, is demanding the National Grid provide answers after a power cut left people stuck in trains for up to nine hours and cut electricity to almost 1 million people in England and Wales.
More than 900,000 customers have had their power restored after experiencing blackouts late on Friday afternoon after what the National Grid electricity system operator said were issues with two generators. The biggest power outage in a decade caused widespread disruption on the rail network during the evening rush hour on Friday. Traffic light systems stopped working, causing gridlock in some areas, and Newcastle airport was left in darkness. Power had been restored to 900,000 customers by Saturday, but the rail network was struggling to get services back to normal.
The power cut stopped traffic lights from working, plunged Newcastle airport into darkness, affected Ipswich hospital and caused major disruption on the railways during the busy Friday evening commute. In a statement released on Saturday, the National Grid acknowledged the disruption that had been caused and said it was investigating what happened.
Ofgem said on Friday night: “In any incident the priority is to get power restored to customers as quickly as possible. National Grid has now informed Ofgem that the system has been restored. Ofgem had earlier demanded an “urgent detailed report” from the National Grid to better understand what went wrong, and threatened enforcement action.
“However, Ofgem understands the frustration this power cut has caused consumers. Ofgem has asked for an urgent detailed report from National Grid so we can understand what went wrong and decide what further steps need to be taken. This could include enforcement action.” The power cut was caused by problems at Little Barford gas-fired power station in Bedfordshire and Hornsea offshore wind farm off the coast of Yorkshire, which both failed at around the same time.
A back-up generator at Ipswich hospital failed after the power cut, a hospital spokeswoman said. A National Grid spokesperson said: “The root cause of yesterday’s issue was not with our system but was a rare and unusual event, the almost simultaneous loss of two large generators, one gas and one offshore wind, at 4.54pm. We are still working with the generators to understand what caused the generation to be lost.”
“There were some issues with regard to our outpatient areas and the generator that provides cover [to them],” the spokeswoman for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS foundation trust said. Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the National Grid spokesman Duncan Burt said what happened was an “incredibly rare event”. The power outage even affected hospitals. A back-up generator at Ipswich hospital which was supposed to supply power to outpatient areas did not work as expected.
Other generators worked as required and “patients were kept safe and cared for throughout” the 15-minute period before power was restored. A spokeswoman for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS foundation trust said other generators worked as required and “patients were kept safe and cared for throughout” the 15-minute period before power was restored.
Prof Tim Green, the co-director of Energy Futures Laboratory at Imperial College London said he believed the two generators that disconnected were at Little Barford, in Bedfordshire, and Hornsea wind farm, in the North Sea off the coast from Hull. A transport union leader said the government must be held to account for the power cut.
“The first generator to disconnect was a gas-fired plant at Little Barford at 4.58pm. Two minutes later Hornsea offshore wind farm seems to have disconnected,” he said. “This might be linked to disturbance caused by first generator failing; might not. Manuel Cortes, the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, said: “We urgently need answers over this fiasco. Having our rail network brought to a standstill in this way is totally unacceptable.
“We will need to wait for National Grid’s full technical investigation to get to bottom of that.” “As we face the growing prospect of a no-deal Brexit it’s reasonable to wonder if this is a foretaste of things to come. Along with an economy sliding towards recession and expected food shortages, we now seem to be a country where blackouts happen without warning, travel grinds to a halt, traffic lights stop working and – terrifyingly – hospitals are left without power.”
He added: “Boris Johnson can’t remain silent over this – he must quickly provide answers and illumination.”
Around 300,000 UK Power Networks customers were affected in London and the south-east, a spokeswoman said, and Western Power Distribution said around 500,000 people were affected in the Midlands, south-west and Wales, with power restored to them all shortly after 6pm.Around 300,000 UK Power Networks customers were affected in London and the south-east, a spokeswoman said, and Western Power Distribution said around 500,000 people were affected in the Midlands, south-west and Wales, with power restored to them all shortly after 6pm.
A spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid, which serves Yorkshire and the north-east, said 110,000 customers lost power, while at least 26,000 people were without power in the north-west, Electricity North West said. A spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid, which serves Yorkshire and the north-east, said 110,000 of its customers lost power, while at least 26,000 people were without power in north-west England, Electricity North West said.
Trains began to run out of King’s Cross late on Friday night after the station was shut down during rush hour. Trains began to run out of Kings Cross late on Friday night after the station was shut down for several hours. Passengers were filmed forcing their way through the barriers in an attempt to board the first northbound service, a train bound for Peterborough at around 9.30pm.
The first train bound for Peterborough left the central London station at around 9.30pm after all services were halted for several hours. Passengers were filmed forcing their way through the barriers to try to board the first northbound service.
London North Eastern Railway tweeted on Friday evening: “Services heading towards London are now able to depart, however due to congestion across the network it will take some time to clear the backlog.”
Thameslink said its services would not be running north out of London for the rest of the day.
On Friday evening, a Network Rail spokeswoman said a power surge on the National Grid meant power was lost to all signalling over a wide area, including Newport, Gloucester, Ashford, Bristol, Eastbourne, Hastings, Three Bridges and Exeter.
“All trains were stopped while our back-up signalling system started up,” she sad.
National GridNational Grid
Energy industryEnergy industry
OfgemOfgem
WalesWales
LondonLondon
Rail transportRail transport
Road transportRoad transport
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