Five learnings outlined in report on March fire at Heathrow

The final report into the London Heathrow fire on 20 March has been published. It includes wide-ranging energy, operations and maintenance recommendations, and sets out five crucial learnings across its findings.

A catastrophic failure on one of high voltage bushings on a transformer caused the fire, which was most likely caused by electrical arcing as a result of moisture ingress.

Safety is always paramount in the industrial gases sector, and incidents such as the one at the North Hyde substation site serve as a useful reminder to review existing safety procedures.

The incident underlines how one incident can have far-reaching consequences; in this instance, it involved the National Grid, distribution and transmission networks, the biggest airport in the UK and Europe, businesses and residents in the vicinity, emergency services, UK government departments and regulators.

The energy and chemicals sectors are among 13 ‘critical national infrastructure’ categories specificed by the UK.

1. Systems need robust controls

Energy asset management processes and systems should include “robust controls” to ensure that identified issues are appropriately categorised and followed up on, including regular reviews of outstanding items. Particular attention should be paid to any area reliant on manual controls.

2. Maintenance actions need review

A second conclusion is that asset owners should review the suite of mitigating actions deployed in the case of overdue maintenance to ensure they are comprehensive and capable of identifying issues likely to lead to asset failure with potential impacts on security of supply. Consideration should also be given to the use of the most up-to-date technology (eg. continuous monitoring) to track the condition of critical assets.

3. Fire and asset risk assessments are needed

In respect of fire and asset risk assessments, the report says these should:

• Be in place for all energy facilities (including electricity and gas distribution, transmission, storage) and explicitly cover all assets, and site level risk;
• For site level assessments, cover the situation where there are multiple assets on a site, potentially controlled by different parties;
• Explicitly include consideration of new or updated standards, even if there is no requirement to be retrospectively compliant;
• Be updated (or explicitly cater for) when relevant equipment is unavailable or out of service; and
• Incorporate input from the fire service, including on firefighting protocols.

4. Consider access for emergency services

Another key recommendation is that network asset owners and relevant emergency services should take the lessons learnt from the North Hyde incident to identify any required improvements to site and substation-specific emergency management plans.

This should include any learnings related to access requirements and where there is a single site with multiple assets under the control of different parties. These should be shared and incorporated into fire and asset risk assessments as appropriate.

5. Understand site-level risks

The final learning is that overall risk assessments at an asset and site level should be undertaken which should incorporate and mitigate for any cumulative or compounding risks.

Attention shines on seasonal grid pressures

Jean-Paul Harreman, Director at Montel Analytics, has warned of intensifying energy system stress as soaring temperatures cause mismatches in electricity supply, demand and flexibility.

Temperatures are currently hovering between 5-10°C above seasonal norms across much of southern and western Europe, with highs regularly exceeding 35°C in parts of Spain and France. This has driven a surge in electricity demand, particularly from air conditioning and cooling appliances during late afternoons and evenings.

“This change in the demand curve creates earlier morning ramps, higher midday consumption and sharper evening peaks, often misaligning with the times that renewables generate power,” he said.

In order to meet the evening demand, fossil fuel plants must then ramp up quickly. Many of these power plants, were never designed for frequent stop-start operations, leading to significant technical and economic costs when used to balance power grids in this manner.

Harreman calls for immediate attention to long-term structural reform, noting that current market signals are clear, but investment incentives and policy responses are lagging.

“Europe needs greater flexibility year-round – through storage, demand-side response and smarter market design,” he said. “The energy system is increasingly shaped not just by technology, but by climate … you don’t plan for average generation numbers, but for the extremes, that is what security-of-supply is all about.”