National Grid failures led to fire that caused Heathrow shutdown, report says

National Grid failures led to fire that caused Heathrow shutdown, report says


Workers on the way of investigate electrical substation following a fire at an electrical substation supplying power to the facility, in London, United Kingdom on March 21, 2025. 

Rasid Necati Aslim | Anadolu | Getty Images

A fire that shut Heathrow airport in March, stranding thousands of passengers, was caused by National Grid’s failure to maintain an electricity substation, an official report said on Wednesday, prompting the energy watchdog to open a probe.

The closure of Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe, cost airlines tens of millions of pounds. It also raised questions about the resilience of Britain’s infrastructure.

Energy minister Ed Miliband said the report was “deeply concerning”.

The report follows a review of the incident on March 21 by the National Energy System Operator, which manages the electricity network and was separated from National Grid last year. 

As a result of the report, Britain’s energy regulator Ofgem launched an enforcement investigation into National Grid Electricity Transmission, which owns and maintains the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales.

The report said its review had seen evidence that a “catastrophic failure” on one of the transformer’s high voltage bushings at National Grid Electricity Transmission’s 275kV substation caused the transformer to catch fire.

“This was most likely caused by moisture entering the bushing, causing an electrical fault,” it said.   

It said National Grid controls in place were not effective and failed to identify that action had not been taken in relation to an elevated moisture reading in 2018.

A National Grid spokesperson said that the company had a comprehensive asset inspection and maintenance programme in place and that it had taken further action since the fire.

“There are important lessons to be learnt about cross-sector resilience and the need for increased coordination,” the spokesperson said.

Ofgem said the review had “established that the root cause of the fire was a preventable, technical fault”.

It plans to review whether National Grid complied with the relevant legislation and licence conditions relating to the development and maintenance of its electricity system close to Heathrow.

The regulator will also commission an independent audit into National Grid assets to review whether the failings were a one-off or systemic, it said.  



Source

Musk’s Grok AI is now on the Kalshi, Polymarket betting apps. What could go wrong?
World

Musk’s Grok AI is now on the Kalshi, Polymarket betting apps. What could go wrong?

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Elon Musk is now a driving force in prediction markets. Musk’s xAI on Thursday announced a partnership to integrate its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok with Kalshi’s prediction markets service. In June, xAI announced a similar deal with Polymarket, a Kalshi rival. Kalshi, the company that turned heads with a made-with-AI […]

Read More
What the prediction markets are saying about the big Wall Street events ahead
World

What the prediction markets are saying about the big Wall Street events ahead

The coming week poses a critical test for the stock market’s record-setting run with a number of make-or-break events — the Federal Reserve ‘s rate decision, July jobs report and President Donald Trump’s tariffs deadline. Popular wagers on prediction platforms Kalshi and Polymarket offer an alternative view into how the mainstream thinks things will unfold […]

Read More
Palantir joins list of 20 most valuable U.S. companies, with stock more than doubling in 2025
World

Palantir joins list of 20 most valuable U.S. companies, with stock more than doubling in 2025

Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, speaks on a panel titled Power, Purpose, and the New American Century at the Hill and Valley Forum at the U.S. Capitol on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images Palantir has hit another major milestone in its meteoric stock rise. It’s now one of […]

Read More