05 September 2003
Last week's power failure in London was an 'exceptional event' and is unlikely to recur, the national electricity provider has claimed.
A National Grid Transco spokesman told Public Finance that the last time such a similar loss of power was experienced was in 1987.
NGT said the power cut was caused by two faults in parts of the system serving the south London area, coupled with the back-up system failing to activate in time. 'This was a quite exceptional event in a transmission system which is modern, well-invested, well-maintained and has consistently demonstrated impressive reliability,' it said.
NGT is to review its procedures to try to prevent a recurrence and both energy minister Stephen Timms and the energy watchdog Ofgem have asked for a full report.
Mayor Ken Livingstone has asked Transport for London to investigate all aspects of its performance on the night. 'This may well require examining areas where past under-investment must now be rectified,' he said.
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