Energy operator ‘flying blind’ as net zero push threatens hiked bills and blackouts Energy The UK’s net zero push risks leaving the country with higher electricity bills and more susceptible to blackouts, according to a leaked report commissioned by the national grid system. The report, produced by energy consultancy firm Cornwall Insight for the National Energy System Operator (Neso) and shared with The Times by a whistleblower, revealed that [...]
Grid operator issues fresh heatwave warning over power supplies Energy The energy grid operator has warned that the “extreme temperatures” from this week’s heatwave could hit power supplies on Thursday night, as households’ use of fans and air conditioner place a record strain on our electricity system. The National Energy System Operator (Neso) issued a rare overnight notice calling on energy companies to generate additional [...]
Public officials ‘not truthful’ about ‘fantasy’ net zero costs Energy Net zero is set to cost the UK economy billions of pounds more than public officials estimate, a new report has suggested, raising questions over the supposed savings to be made from the energy transition for households and businesses. A new paper published by the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free market think tank, has [...]
Does anyone come out clean from Heathrow Airport power outage? July 2, 2025 Who comes out clean from the chaos that engulfed Heathrow Airport in March? Today’s revelations from the NESO report were damning for National Grid, the operator of the North Hyde substation that burst into flames, leading to a 16-hour power outage at the UK’s biggest airport. There had been back and forth for weeks between [...]
Heathrow ‘responded well’ to power outage despite sleeping CEO, report says May 28, 2025 Heathrow Airport “responded well” to the power outage incident in March despite its chief executive sleeping through a key decision on whether to stop operations, an internal review, commissioned by the airport, found. More than 200,000 passengers around the world faced disruption as Heathrow opted to stop operations following a fire at the nearby North [...]
Power restored to Heathrow terminals seven hours before flights resumed May 8, 2025 Power was restored to Heathrow airport’s terminals seven hours before flights resumed on the day it was closed because of a substation fire, an investigation has found. An interim report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) found the flow of electricity to all four of the west London airport’s passenger terminals was restarted by [...]
Grid connection for clean energy firms to be fast-tracked, ministers say April 15, 2025 Grid connections for businesses delivering clean energy are to be prioritised, ministers have said. The government has said so-called ‘zombie projects’ which hold up the queue for National Grid connectivity are set to be axed from the waiting list. While industries including data centres and AI, wind energy and solar projects will be accelerated for [...]
Heathrow fire ‘not believed suspicious’ but under Met counter-terror probe March 24, 2025 The cause of the fire which shut down Heathrow Airport is “not believed to be suspicious” but is under investigation by the Met Police counter-terrorism squad, a minister has said. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander updated MPs on the “unprecedented” power outage which shut Britain’s busiest airport over the weekend in the House of Commons on [...]
Grid operator to ‘urgently investigate’ Heathrow power outage after fire March 22, 2025 Energy secretary Ed Miliband has ordered the National Energy System Operator to “urgently investigate” the power outage caused by a substation fire that shut Heathrow Airport on Friday. He is working with Ofgem and using powers under the Energy Act to formally launch the grid operator’s investigation. “We are determined to properly understand what happened [...]
UK’s data centre ambitions threatened by grid red tape February 6, 2025 Delays connecting to the electricity grid may risk the UK’s position in the global AI race, as proposals for new data centres are pushed down the track, experts have warned. The National Energy Systems Operator (NESO) is grappling with a major backlog, and it is understood that any proposed big infrastructure project looking to hook [...]