海角视频

Despite having infrastructure comparable to a large town and three independent energy supplies, any of which could keep the airport operational, a fire at North Hyde substation led to Heathrow Airport shutting down.  

In this Q&A interview about the fire, we speak with Chris Glover, Director, Utilities and Energy at 海角视频, who has over 30 years of experience working in the energy and utilities sector.   

Q: What does the preliminary report by NESO reveal about the events of the North Hyde fire at Heathrow on March 20? 

Chris Glover:鈥疶he NESO preliminary report highlights that a fire broke out, then spread to the adjacent transformer. This resulted in a loss of supply from one of three energy supplies at Heathrow airport which then took the decision to shut down. It then took several hours to 鈥榬econfigure鈥� the network, affecting its operations significantly and raising important questions about the resilience of critical national infrastructure sites such as this.  

From the pictures in the NESO report there appears to be no physical barrier between the two adjacent supergrid transformers installed in 1968. A third was installed at a later date some 30 metres away. Nor does it appear there was a fire suppression system, such as a deluge system.

Q: What important questions need to be addressed to quickly learn from this incident and improve the resilience of our critical infrastructure?

Several key questions that need to be addressed to learn from the incident and improve the resilience of our critical infrastructure. These include:  

• Why, with three fully rated supplies, did the loss of one cause the airport to shut down? 
• Why were there several hours of 鈥榬econfiguration鈥� before power was returned? 
• Why did the generators fail or stop so soon after being started and what can be done to ensure power supply continues  when incidents such as this occur?
• What other enhancements are needed e.g. around the risk register, regular rehearsals, etc. to prevent future loss of power for such a length of time?
• What lessons can other asset owners learn from this for their own major incident plans, responsiveness, etc.

Q: Why are both electrical and physical resilience crucial for sites with critical national infrastructure? 

Chris Glover: 鈥�Resilience is about more than one aspect. In this instance both electrical and physical resilience are crucial to ensure that critical national infrastructure sites, like Heathrow Airport have the required level of resilience from disruptions like fires. This includes having robust electrical systems and safeguarding against physical threats. For example, physical barriers can prevent a fire from spreading between transformers and effective isolation measures can ensure that one fault does not result in a cascade of failures. 

Q: How does Heathrow Airport ensure power supply?  

Chris Glover:鈥疻ith three independent fully rated supplies, each capable of powering the airport on its own. This continuous supply is essential for maintaining operations during disruptions. The airport’s private internal electrical distribution network is designed to reconfigure and restore power quickly, although this process took longer than expected during the incident. 

Q: How can we prevent a cascade of failures like this in future? 

Chris Glover:鈥� It involves a number of important steps. Physical barriers, such as a blast wall in this instance would have likely stopped the fire at one transformer affecting the other. Additionally, regular and thorough inspections, along with regular rehearsal of incident response plans, are crucial to mitigate risks and reduce delays 

Q: Why did the fire spread despite mandatory quarterly inspections?

Chris Glover: The fire appears to have spread from one transformer to the adjacent one. This is highly unusual. The images from the NESO report does not show either a physical barrier or  a fire suppression system.   

The final report from NESO is expected by the end of June. Chris said, “I am keen to hear how the asset owners and its contractors plan to ensure this type of incident doesn鈥檛 occur again.”