Heathrow Airport Power Outage: Preventable Fire Shut Down Airport After Years of neglect

A newly released report reveals that a fire at a substation near Heathrow Airport, which caused widespread disruption and the grounding of over 1,300 flights, could have been prevented.The incident,which occurred earlier this year,left tens of thousands without power and exposed critical vulnerabilities in the UK’s energy infrastructure .

Neglected Maintenance Led to Catastrophic Power failure

The National Energy system Operator (NESO) investigation determined that moisture entering electrical components at the North hyde substation was the primary cause of the fire. This substation is a key supplier of power to Heathrow Airport, the UK’s largest airport. The report further revealed that elevated moisture levels had been detected as far back as July 2018, but “mitigating actions appropriate to its severity were not implemented,” and basic maintenance was cancelled .

Did You Know? Heathrow Airport has three electrical supply points, but energy companies were unaware that the loss of one could cripple critical airport systems.

The day following the fire,Heathrow was forced to shut down,resulting in the cancellation of thousands of flights and leaving passengers stranded. NESO’s report indicated that the power outage affected 66,919 domestic and commercial customers, including Heathrow Airport, impacting approximately 270,000 journeys.

The fire was “most likely caused by moisture entering the bushing causing a short circuit. The electricity likely then “arced” (causing sparks) which combined with air and heat to ignite the oil, resulting in a fire”. Bushing refers to the insulating material used around electrical parts to ensure the safe operation of equipment.