Heathrow fire caused by ‘catastrophic failure’ at substation

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The fire that led to the closure of Heathrow Airport for 24 hours in March due to a “catastrophic failure” of the equipment at an electrical sub -station, according to an official review of the accident.

the The fire at the northern sub -station Hyde In Hayes, west of London, it started when moisture entered the “fuss”-the materials through which it flows inside and outside the transformer-which caused an electrical error.

The sub -fire was destroyed, which led to the power outage of about 70,000 customers in the region, including Heathrow AirportThe busiest airports in Europe.

The closure resulted in the abolition of more than 1300 trips and a large scale Questions about flexibility Critical national infrastructure.

The NESO report found that a high reading of moisture in the executioner was discovered in oil samples in 2018, but “no reduced procedures for its intensity were implemented.”

This result raises questions for the National Grid network, the FTSE 100 company that owns and runs the sub -network with the rest of the Electricity Transmission Network in England and Wales.

Britain’s energy organizer said this morning that it had opened an enforced investigation in the transmission of national network electricity, and that the cause of the fire “can be prevented.”

“In the final report of NESO, it was proven that the root cause of fire was a preventive technical error,” OFGEM said in a statement.

NESO added that the National Grid’s transmission department began “a comprehensive review of the process of taking oil samples, with the aim of ensuring that they are strong.”

“In addition, they practice a review and guarantee for all registered oil samples to ensure that all appropriate measures are taken when necessary.”