Great Britain\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The accusations, which were raised in parliament last week<\/a> by the Conservative shadow minister Claire Coutinho, include claims that senior bosses at the National Energy System Operator (Neso) were \u201crisking blackouts to protect Neso\u2019s reputation\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThese 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,\u201d Coutinho said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n In a letter to the UK\u2019s data watchdog, Coutinho said that a whistleblower had alleged that staff were told not to keep permanent records of their decisions and that Neso\u2019s corporate affairs team attempted to pressure operators to make decisions in order to protect the organisation\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n \u201cIf true, this is nothing short of a scandal,\u201d Coutinho told parliament last week.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The grid\u2019s frequency slumped to below Neso\u2019s 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\u2019s regulations.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n