National Grid (NG.) is under the spotlight of both the government and the regulator, following Friday’s power outage that hit hundreds of thousands of households and caused chaos across the rail network.
Ofgem is requesting an urgent detailed report into what happened and based on the information provided, will decide whether a formal investigation is required. The energy regulator has warned its response could include enforcement action, which carries a potential financial penalty and compensation for affected customers. Ofgem has the power to fine energy companies up to 10 per cent of turnover if they are found to have breached licence conditions. This would apply specifically to National Grid’s electricity system operator (ESO), which became a legally separated entity within the group on 1 April and is responsible for balancing the UK’s electricity supply and demand in real time.
Meanwhile, new business and energy secretary Andrea Leadsom has announced she will be instructing the Energy Emergencies Executive Committee to investigate the incident. National Grid is itself conducting an internal review to establish what caused two sizeable power sources – a gas-fired power station in Bedfordshire and a wind farm off the Yorkshire coast – to disconnect within minutes of each other and assess its response to the event. The group maintains its systems “worked well” in reacting to an “incredibly rare” near-simultaneous failure of two generators.
