Great Britain’s grid operator has brought in independent investigators to look into accusations that its staff were involved in a cover-up over the power system being at a greater risk of blackouts during the heatwave.
The government-owned energy system operator will face the scrutiny of an external legal firm after a whistleblower claimed that control room staff were warned against leaving a paper trail relating to efforts to stabilise the power system during record high temperatures in late June.
The accusations, which were raised in parliament last week by the Conservative shadow minister Claire Coutinho, include claims that senior bosses at the National Energy System Operator (Neso) were “risking blackouts to protect Neso’s reputation”.
“These whistleblowers are coming to me because they are worried that the grid is becoming increasingly unmanageable and they do not have faith that their concerns are being taken seriously internally,” Coutinho said.
Industry data shows that power grid frequency fell below operational limits as the high-pressure heat dome curbed renewable energy generation and triggered unplanned outages at gas plants, while demand for electricity to run air-conditioning systems surged.
The whistleblower alleged that during this period senior bosses ordered control room staff to ensure that there was no audit trail or records of key decisions made relating to managing fluctuations in the electricity system.
In a letter to the UK’s data watchdog, Coutinho said that a whistleblower had alleged that staff were told not to keep permanent records of their decisions and that Neso’s corporate affairs team attempted to pressure operators to make decisions in order to protect the organisation’s reputation.
“If true, this is nothing short of a scandal,” Coutinho told parliament last week.
Neso said in a statement on Monday that despite the unprecedented conditions, the grid had operated securely and the frequency and voltage of the power system had remained within statutory limits.
The grid’s frequency slumped to below Neso’s operational limits of between 49.8Hz and 50.2Hz used to guard against the risk of blackouts for most of the period between 17.30 and 18.30 on 23 June. But the lowest recorded frequency was 49.66Hz, which is still well above the statutory lower limit of 49.5Hz required by the government’s regulations.
The system operator was forced to raise the alarm over electricity supplies twice in the last week of June as a result of the impact of the heatwave.
It is estimated to have paid out millions for a few hours of emergency electricity generated by gas power plants, a leading cause of the atmospheric carbon emissions that are accelerating global heating.
Craig Dyke, a director at Neso, said a “full deep dive” into the system operations would be undertaken. “Neso has commissioned an independent investigation into recent allegations around decision-making and record-keeping,” he added.
Both reports will be published, according to the system operator.
