Britain’s electricity transmission network was capable of providing enough power to Heathrow Airport to keep it operating despite a fire at a substation that forced it to close for nearly 24 hours last week, National Grid’s CEO has said.
A fire at the North Hyde substation, which feeds most of Heathrow Airport with most of its electricity, resulted in the closure of the airport and led to concerns about the resilience of key arteries in Britain’s transport network.
The closure caused aviation chaos due to the cancellation of more than 1,300 flights, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.
But according to National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew, two other substations also feed the airport, with each able to meet Heathrow’s electricity needs.
“There was no lack of capacity from the substations,” he told the Financial Times. “Each substation individually can provide enough power to Heathrow.” It was a “question for Heathrow” as to why they took the decision to close the entire...