The cause of the fire that forced Heathrow to close in March remains unknown, according to a review, while forensic fire investigations continue.
National Energy System Operator (NESO) has published its interim findings from its review into the North Hyde Substation outage on the night of Thursday, March 20, near Hayes in west London, that led to the closure of Heathrow Airport on the Friday, March 21.
NESO was commissioned by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Ofgem to do a review into the outage, with an initial report submitted to the Secretary of State and Ofgem within six weeks. NESO will provide a final report to the Secretary of State and Ofgem by the end of June 2025, including recommendations about the resilience of energy infrastructure, and lessons.
Fintan Slye, Chief Executive Officer at NESO, said: “The outage led to the loss of supply to around 67,000 customers, a number of commercial customers and Heathrow Airport. It is important that the right lessons are learnt from this incident to prevent future instances where possible and to manage them effectively when they do occur. NESO’s unique position in the energy sector makes it well placed to provide recommendations to improve the resilience of the country’s energy system, and the resilience of its critical national infrastructure.”
London Fire Brigade worked with National Grid Electricity Transmission and SSEN Distribution to ensure power was isolated on the substation site, in line with the National Fire Chiefs Council’s National Operational Guidance, before tackling the fire. Heathrow, using its two other electrical connections to SSEN Distribution’s system, reconfigured its own internal electrical distribution network to restore power to its terminals and wider airport infrastructure, to reopen partly on the Friday; and reopened for business-as-usual operation on the Saturday, March 22.
Comment
Martin Vojtek, Business Director 3D Surveillance at Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division, says renewed attention is being placed on critical infrastructure and the consequences of downtime.
“Thankfully, major substation incidents are rare occurrences. This is due to the rigorous monitoring, maintenance, safety and security measures that energy companies have in place. However, in the past year, energy infrastructure providers in Europe have begun to look at how new technology can make their substations even safer and more secure.
“Typically, substations are unmanned and remotely monitored. Access is controlled through a combination of traditional perimeter protection including fencing (steel and passive infrared sensors), a gate or door (often operated via a card or biometric), an alarm and cameras, which may utilise some form of video analytics. Now, energy companies and other operators of national critical infrastructure have begun testing and implementing new safety and security environments.
“A good example is a major energy company in mainland Europe that has introduced a 3D surveillance system, based on volumetric LiDAR detection technology. The system uses strategically placed LiDAR sensors that enable virtual secure, safe and sterile zones to be created (including the perimeter fence). Crucially, these zones can be switched on and off or changed at the click of a button or drag of the mouse. For example, when maintenance is being carried out, the zone in which the work is taking place can be deactivated. Meanwhile, other areas remain live to prevent workers from straying into an unauthorised and potentially hazardous area.
“Authorised personnel and trespassers can also be automatically monitored and tracked via a live real-time feed into the control room. Furthermore, the system recognises the number of people, their precise position, their speed and direction of movement (if walking or running) as well as their projected trajectory. This can be augmented further with PTZ cameras, alarms and speaker systems to communicate with the person/s in question.
“Another significant advantage of this type of system is the ability to create a digital twin for every substation. In doing so, scenarios can be played out virtually to test the resistance and resilience of safety and security measures. Essentially, it creates a 3D representation/map of the entire facility you can interact with. It enables the positioning of LiDAR sensors and cameras to be optimised to mitigate potential blind spots or poor viewing angles before an installer steps on site. You can even specify the type of camera and its location and then view a virtual stream from it.
“Such a system can be enhanced further still with the addition of thermal sensors and cameras that are able to monitor the temperature of designated areas and raise the alert if it deviates from the norm. This is valuable both for intrusion detection (whether human or animal) and to detect the early signs of a fire before it begins to smoke or burst into flames.
“The project in Europe has been so successful that the company is planning to roll the solution out nationally. It is also sharing its knowledge with competitors to help secure the country’s electricity distribution network. The initiative has piqued the interest of energy companies in the US and Asia-Pacific region, who view this new approach as the gold standard for modern substation safety and security.
“In March, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that global electricity consumption surged by 4.3 per cent in 2024, driven by a wide range factors – from demand both in the home and across industry. Our greater reliance on energy makes its more of a target, highlighting why critical pieces of infrastructure need to be afforded the highest level of protection.”
