The state-owned body that runs Britain’s electricity grid is spending more than £75,000 on an ‘investigation’ into its own staff after some of them leaked details of the UK’s critical grid weakness. Critics of Labour energy policy say that unreliable renewables are making it impossible for grid operators to balance the grid, especially in tough weather conditions…
During the heatwave week beginning 22 June, low wind, gas outages, high demand, and network constraints left the grid extremely stretched on the evening of the 23rd. There followed severe alerts as to the electricity capability of the grid. Whistleblowers told then-Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho that senior managers instructed control room staff to keep “live documents” running with no version history, such that full records would not survive for FOI purposes. Coutinho has been campaigning on the issue over the summer in a war with NESO executives who insist everything was fine…
NESO’s public line is that “no lines or cables were overloaded.” Whistleblowers also alleged Corporate Affairs staff pressed for certain stabilising actions not to be taken, to protect the quango’s reputation…
Labour ministers defended the quango and accused Coutinho of “scaremongering.” Energy minister Michael Shanks told the Commons that “at no point did we come close to breaching” electricity reserve standards. Whistleblower documents allege otherwise…
NESO announced an ‘external’ investigation by law firm Eversheds Sutherland International into the allegations in July. Coutinho said it is a “sham” because it won’t examine into whether the grid is being run securely nor if there was a breach of security standards on 23 June. It has yet to report back…
In an FOI response NESO says it holds no record of the complete total cost “as the investigation has not concluded” but that “our initial fee estimate for the investigation is £75,000 plus VAT.” £90,000 for a whitewash?
Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked John Healey: “Just finally, I mean Andy Burnham has been very clear he wants Britain back in the European Union in his lifetime. Do you?”
The Chancellor replied: “I’m older than Andy Burnham. I don’t expect to see that.”