A fire at an electricity substation caused Heathrow Airport to shut down for nearly a day, affecting over 200,000 passengers. The National Energy System Operator identified the fire's cause as moisture intrusion in the transformer insulation, leading to a catastrophic failure. Despite warnings about the fault dating back seven years and deferred maintenance in 2022, it was not addressed. Heathrow, which requires substantial electricity, underestimated the risk of losing a connection and opted against investing a billion pounds to rectify the situation, resulting in significant disruption.
The NESO report identified a "supergrid transformer" malfunction as the cause, where moisture entered insulation, leading to a short-circuit and ultimately a fire in the transformer.
National Grid had knowledge of moisture issues dating back to July 2018, which were flagged as indicators of an imminent fault, yet maintenance was not prioritized.
Despite the serious implications of power loss, Heathrow did not consider the failure of one connection to be a probable scenario, resulting in deferred maintenance.
Heathrow's electricity demand mirrors that of a small city, with a decision made against investing a billion pounds for necessary repairs to ensure reliability.
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