Commons Sense

House of Commons · General Debate

Heathrow Substation Outage NESO Review 2025-07-02

02 July 2025 · 12 other contributors

Opened by Michael Shanks Con South Dorset

EnergyEnvironment

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Michael Shanks raised concerns about heathrow substation outage neso review 2025-07-02 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • The Minister stated that NGET's failure to act on elevated moisture samples from 2018 likely caused the fire at the North Hyde substation.
  • The Government will urgently consider NESO's findings and publish a response detailing the actions to address the identified issues.
  • The Minister emphasized the need for improved resilience in critical infrastructure and highlighted ongoing initiatives like the 10-year infrastructure strategy.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Michael Shanks Con South Dorset

The Minister made a statement on the publication of the report from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) following its review into the fire at the North Hyde substation, which occurred on March 20th and disrupted power supply to over 70,000 customers including Heathrow airport. He emphasised that NGET's failure to take appropriate action based on elevated moisture samples taken in 2018 was likely the cause of the fire. The Minister assured that the Government will consider NESO’s findings urgently and publish a response outlining actions to address identified issues. Additionally, he highlighted the need for improved resilience across critical infrastructure and noted ongoing initiatives such as the 10-year infrastructure strategy.

Other contributors (12)
  • Claire Coutinho Con East Surrey

    The shadow Secretary of State questioned the Minister about accountability at National Grid, potential penalties for licence condition breaches, and called for a review of substations built before current standards. She also emphasised the importance of resilience in the energy system amidst heightened geopolitical risks, particularly concerning China's influence on UK energy security. Coutinho criticised the lack of attention to Chinese threats in the national security strategy and urged for an assessment of reliance on Chinese imports.

  • Michael Shanks Con Dover

    Welcomed back the right hon. Lady as shadow Secretary of State but disagreed with her claims about the Government's energy policy, stating that they are sprinting towards clean power and upgrading network infrastructure to remove volatility from fossil fuels. He emphasised waiting for Ofgem’s investigation into National Grid's compliance with licence conditions.

  • Bill Esterson Lab Sefton Central

    Emphasised the lack of action after risks were identified in 2018 at the North Hyde substation. Highlighted a matter of immense luck that no one was present during the transformer fire and explosion, and questioned whether National Grid will ensure proper oversight and information sharing internally and externally.

  • Luke Taylor LD Sutton and Cheam

    Critiqued the lack of readiness for climate change impacting national infrastructure resilience. Highlighted missed opportunities to fix issues at the substation and called on the Government to review resilience of all similar assets, including airports.

  • Chi Onwurah Lab Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West

    Critiques the lack of proper maintenance of National Grid for seven years, leading to a single point of failure at Heathrow Airport. Asks Minister to improve engineering maintenance standards.

  • Michael Shanks

    Defends that Heathrow had multiple routes into its electricity network and explains the need for resilience planning. Acknowledges potential issues with changing standards over time and commits to reviewing these points further.

  • Bernard Jenkin Con Harwich and North Essex

    Calls on Minister to undertake a full, frank and open discussion within the Department about lessons learned from this disaster. Emphasises the need for exercises to practise resilience in future failures.

  • Ruth Cadbury Lab Brentford and Isleworth

    Highlights that Heathrow's power set-up virtually guarantees hours of disruption, affecting over a quarter of a million passengers. Questions Government's role in ensuring robust end-to-end power supply to critical national infrastructure.

  • Graham Leadbitter SNP Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey

    Critiques the Government’s response as severely wanting, highlighting inadequate assessments and lack of communication. Questions why it took a serious outage for National Grid to be audited.

  • John McDonnell Ind Hayes and Harlington

    Expresses concern about potential terrorist activity targeting sites like the substation in his constituency, stressing the need for Government leadership and accountability in ensuring resilience.

  • Richard Tice Reform Boston and Skegness

    Questions whether National Grid was negligent given their failure to recognise how close the country came to a national blackout earlier this year. Asks if there is full confidence in National Grid's management.

  • Tom Collins Lab Worcester

    Suggests that lessons learned should be applied not only to electricity transmission and distribution sites but also to energy storage sites, where standards are currently absent. Emphasises the need for redundancy, flexibility, diversity in the energy system, and backup from multiple parts of the sector.

Government Response

Michael Shanks

The Minister made a statement addressing the findings of NESO's review into the North Hyde substation fire, emphasising the need for better maintenance practices and adherence to safety standards. He also highlighted actions being taken by Ofgem and the Government to enhance resilience in energy infrastructure. Acknowledged the need for information sharing within National Grid and externally between organisations. Called for a wider review of critical national infrastructure resilience and highlighted Government investment in long-term infrastructure projects. Defends that Heathrow had multiple routes into its electricity network but acknowledges lessons to be learned. Commits to reviewing maintenance backlogs and adapting infrastructure for future standards. Clarifies that National Grid's Energy System Operator is now a publicly owned company responsible for managing the electricity network. Denies claims about coming close to a blackout earlier this year. Emphasises building a safe and resilient electricity system.

Shadow Response

Claire Coutinho

Coutinho questioned the Minister regarding accountability at National Grid, penalties for licence condition breaches, and called for a review of substations built before current standards. She stressed the importance of resilience in energy infrastructure amidst heightened geopolitical risks, particularly concerning China's influence on UK energy security.

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