By Bloomberg Wire
A massive power outage that crippled operations at Heathrow Airport in March resulted from the failure of critical equipment at a nearby electrical substation, according to an official report on the incident.
The analysis from the National Energy System Operator found that a buildup of moisture inside the substation鈥檚 鈥渂ushing鈥 鈥 insulators that keep high-voltage environments operating safely 鈥 led to a fire.
National Grid Plc鈥檚 own guidance had acknowledged back in 2018 that such an issue could cause an 鈥渋mminent fault,鈥 though preventative steps weren鈥檛 taken, according to NESO.
UK energy regulator Ofgem said Wednesday it鈥檚 opened an investigation into National Grid following the publication of NESO鈥檚 review.
The company has faced calls to strengthen the resilience of its infrastructure following the March 21 fire and power cut, which brought travel to a standstill for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
National Grid said in a statement that it supported the recommendations in the report and would cooperate closely with Ofgem鈥檚 probe.