Latest news with #SouthernElectricityNetworks
The National
04-08-2025
- Climate
- The National
Storm Floris: Power outages across Scotland amid 90mph winds
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks is reporting scattered power outages, while there are some outages in Orkney and Shetland. The reports come as around 10,000 homes in Ireland are without power after Storm Floris brought strong winds to the island. READ MORE: See the full list of bridges closed in Scotland as gust speeds increase Weather alerts remain in place across Scotland. What rights do I have as a consumer if I have a power cut? Scots should 'know their rights' as Storm Floris triggers a wave of disruption across the country today, according to a leading charity. Advice Direct Scotland has issued information for those affected, as the storm brings unseasonably strong winds and cancellations across the transport network. The charity told the public that if you lose electricity due to a storm, compensation varies depending on the storm's category. Storm Floris will likely be classed as a Category 1 or Category 2 event. If the storm is Category 2 and you are without power for 48 hours: Initial compensation would be £80, with an additional £40 for every six hours without power, up to a maximum of £2000. For gas cuts, consumers might be entitled to compensation if the supply is cut off for more than 24 hours, receiving £60 after the first 24 hours and another £60 for each following 24-hour period. According to Advice Direct Scotland, the gas network operator should contact consumers directly, but no compensation will be given if more than 30,000 homes were affected, the consumer caused the cut-off, or the operator took reasonable steps to prevent it. Conor Forbes, policy director at Advice Direct Scotland, said: 'Storm Floris is causing serious disruption across Scotland. We recognise the anxiety and uncertainty this brings to many households, and it is important that people know their rights. 'Our teams are on hand to offer free, impartial advice to anyone affected, whether it's power outages, travel cancellations or damage to property. READ MORE: Storm Floris Live: Latest warnings, transport cancellations and road closures 'We can help people understand their rights, access compensation, and find practical support quickly. 'We urge anyone impacted to reach out via our helplines, website or social media channels. Whether you're dealing with energy supply issues, insurance claims or service interruptions, we're here to guide you through it. 'Storms like Floris test our resilience, but no one should face these challenges alone. Your wellbeing is our priority, and we're committed to helping communities stay safe, informed and supported every step of the way.'
BBC News
20-04-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
About 700 homes in Hampshire without electricity after power cut
About 700 homes have been left without electricity after a power cut in and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it was aware of an unplanned outage to 679 homes in Park was reported at about 12:15 BST and SSEN said it was aiming to restore power to the homes by 16: had been due on site from 12:30, it added. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Guardian
02-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Heathrow should not mark its own homework on energy resilience
'We purchase and pay for a resilient setup from our suppliers,' Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow's under-pressure chief executive, told the transport select committee, adding that the airport racked up energy costs of £135m a year. 'Are we then also supposed to have a setup next to it? And then we would have to have a whole power station at the cost of billions to the airlines.' So runs Heathrow's case that there was no alternative to closing the airport for a full day last month after a fire knocked out a nearby National Grid substation, one of three serving the airport. Heathrow's engineers had to reconfigure an internal grid to take electricity solely from the other two substations. The reconfiguration involved shutting down and restarting 1,000 systems and could not be done in less than 10 hours. Therefore, passengers had to stay away during the process. Any other approach would have been unsafe. The persuasive part of this account is that a lengthy closure was inevitable if Heathrow needed 10 hours to do its stuff. There was some back-and-forth at the committee on whether Terminal 5, the least affected by the power cut, could have reopened sooner but Woldbye's preference for caution on that detail was understandable. As he said, there is a difference between being able to land an aeroplane safely and being able to process its passengers through border control, baggage reclaim and the rest of it. Yet 10 hours to reconfigure! The core question is why Heathrow was happy to tolerate such a timetable in its emergency planning. One can understand an airport is a more complex operation than a humble datacentre, but the MPs didn't properly challenge Woldbye's presentation of the choice at Heathrow as a binary one between a 10-hour restart and an investment running to zillions. Were there no options in between? Perhaps not, but one wanted to hear a more detailed version of Heathrow's cost-benefit analysis than the one Woldbye offered. He said his engineers estimated it would cost 'more than £1bn' to refit a power ring around Heathrow and that the airlines would never agree to pay for it. OK, full resilience may not be economically viable. But could a less gold-plated investment have contained the downtime to a couple of hours, say? That is an electrical engineering question that is beyond this column's expertise. But it is also a question of what decisions were made by the Heathrow board about risk and resilience, and on what basis. The role of National Grid and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, transmission and distribution operators respectively, cannot be overlooked. But, as Southern Electricity's operations director, Eliane Algaard, pointed out, the two additional electricity intakes were available throughout and Network Rail, also affected by the substation fire, was able to transfer its power sources automatically. One hopes 'the Kelly review', mentioned repeatedly by Woldbye, will address the board's past risk assessments and judgments on operational resilience. Unfortunately, the Kelly in question is the former transport secretary Ruth Kelly, a main board director of Heathrow for the past six years. As argued here last week, that appointment will look like a case of marking your own homework. An external examiner would have more credibility. It is not too late.
The Independent
21-03-2025
- The Independent
When will Heathrow airport reopen? Everything we know so far about the Hayes fire and travel chaos
Thousands of passengers are facing delays and cancellations after a massive fire ripped through an electricity substation near Heathrow Airport. Up to 300,000 customers were set to fly through Europe's biggest airport on Friday, with around 1,351 flights affected by the mysterious blaze. Ten fire engines rushed to Nestles Avenue, Hayes, a suburban street around five miles north of the airport, where 70 firefighters tackled the inferno throughout the night from 12am, London Fire Brigade said. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said London Heathrow and 16,300 homes in Hayes and Hounslow were hit by a widespread power cut due to the fire. Around 150 residents were evacuated from nearby properties and a 200-metre cordon was put in place around the substation, police said. It is unclear what caused the fire. Here, The Independent takes a look at all we know about the fire about how it has affected flights going in and out of Heathrow Airport. What caused the fire? The London Fire Brigade said it was investigating the cause of the blaze, which is currently unknown and was reported around midnight. Footage showed the fire ripping through a Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks-managed substation throughout the night, as dozens of firefighters rushed to extinguish it. Energy minister Ed Miliband told LBC Radio there was no suggestion that there was foul play. He also told BBC: 'It's obviously an unprecedented event, but we will want to understand both the causes of this event and what lessons, if any, it can teach us.' How many passengers have been affected? London Heathrow said it would be closed until midnight on Friday to 'maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues'. Up to 291,000 passengers were set to fly from Heathrow Airport on Friday, with 1,330 flights scheduled throughout the day, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Up to 665 departures were scheduled, equating to over 145,094 seats, and 669 flights were due to arrive, equating to 145,836 seats. According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, Australian carrier Qantas Airways sent its flight from Perth to Paris, and a United Airlines New York flight was instead heading to Shannon, Ireland. When will Heathrow reopen? Passengers have been asked not to travel to the airport"under any circumstances", while British Airways said it would not be operating flights out of its global hub "until further notice". It is unclear when the airport will reopen. A spokesperson said: 'Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage. 'To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow Airport will be closed until midnight on 21 March. 'Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.'
New York Times
21-03-2025
- New York Times
What We Know About the Closure of Heathrow Airport
London's Heathrow Airport was closed for all of Friday, shutting down one of the world's busiest airports and causing worldwide travel disruptions after it lost power because of a fire nearby. The closure disrupts an important travel hub for Britain, Europe and the world. Daily, an average of more than 220,000 passengers traveled through the airport last year on flights offered by 90 airlines to more than 180 destinations around the globe. On Friday morning, planes were scheduled to arrive from as far away as Vietnam, India and Brunei, and passengers were expecting to take off for destinations like Tokyo, New York and Riyadh. Heathrow advised passengers not to travel to the airport because it would be closed until at least 11:59 p.m. local time. Here is what we know about Heathrow's closure. The problem began with a nearby fire. Heathrow said early Friday that it had been hit by a power outage, caused by a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport. The London Fire Brigade said that it had been called to the fire in western London late Thursday, deploying dozens of firefighters. About 150 people were evacuated from the area. The cause of the fire was not known, the fire brigade said. Nearby homes and businesses were also affected, the fire brigade said. About 16,000 customers were without power early Friday, according to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, a British energy company. Ripple effects will be global. Heathrow's closure will affect at least 1,351 flights in and out of the airport, according to Flightradar24, a flight tracking website. As the closure was announced early Friday, 120 aircraft that had been scheduled to arrive at Heathrow were in the air. Some were diverted to alternate airports, including London Gatwick Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, Flightradar24 said. Others began returning to their origins. The disruption caused by the fire was expected to spread into Friday morning, said Pat Goulbourne, assistant commissioner at the fire brigade. 'We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,' a Heathrow spokesperson said in a statement. Britain's laws protect many travelers facing disruptions. Airlines are required to look after you if you are departing from Britain on any airline or arriving there on an E.U. or U.K. airline. If your flight is canceled, you should be offered a choice of a refund or alternate travel arrangements at the earliest opportunity, according to Britain's Civil Aviation Authority. If you choose to travel at another time, they must provide you with a reasonable amount of food or drink, accommodation if you are rerouted the next day and transport to and from the accommodation. If your flight has been canceled or diverted, check your airline for its policies.
