{"id":699015,"date":"2026-07-18T21:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T21:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/699015\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T21:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T21:45:14","slug":"national-grid-british-accused-of-cutting-off-the-netherlands-during-heatwave-as-power-supply-pushed-to-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/699015\/","title":{"rendered":"National Grid: British accused of \u2018cutting off the Netherlands\u2019 during heatwave as power supply pushed to limits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain has been accused of \u201ccutting off the Netherlands\u201d during the recent heatwaves as the nation\u2019s power grid was pushed to its limits, risking blackouts across the UK.<\/p>\n

Speaking to GB News, columnist Juliet Samuel claimed that decisions were taken after the nation\u2019s energy supply \u201cfell below safe levels for a really sustained period\u201d. <\/p>\n

Ms Samuel was speaking after independent investigators were drafted in to examine accusations that the state-run National Energy System Operator (Neso) had obscured the threat of blackouts during soaring temperatures.<\/p>\n

Conservative Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho told Parliament last week that Britain\u2019s power grid was \u201cnot being run securely, with a particularly severe event on June 23\u201d and that bosses were \u201crisking blackouts to protect Neso\u2019s reputation\u201d.<\/p>\n

She revealed that whistleblowers had approached her with fears that \u201cthe grid is becoming increasingly unmanageable and they do not have faith that their concerns are being taken seriously internally\u201d. <\/p>\n

Ms Samuel said that an internal Neso memo showed that \u201cthe grid did not have enough (energy) generation\u201d on June 23, at the height of the heatwave. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere wasn’t enough energy going into it to meet demand,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe frequency of the grid, which is the speed at which the electricity oscillates through the grid, the thing that keeps the grid stable, fell below safe levels for a really sustained period. This incident was not managed properly.<\/p>\n

\"Pylons<\/p>\n

The British national grid has been accused of \u2018cutting off the Netherlands\u2019 as power supply pushed to limits<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

\u201cThe document shows that there’s no reason why it wouldn’t happen again and put us in, frankly, a very difficult and dangerous situation.<\/p>\n

\u201dBoth the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Neso have stringently denied that the grid was overloaded and insist that ‘no customer demand was disconnected, frequency and voltage remained within statutory limits, and no lines or cables were overloaded’.”<\/p>\n

However, Ms Samuel claimed the body\u2019s report contradicted this denial and that access to British energy had been denied to the Netherlands. <\/p>\n

\u201cTheir report says that someone was actually cut off during that incident on June 23, and it was in the Netherlands,” she said. <\/p>\n

\"Coulmist<\/p>\n

Coulmist Juliet Samuel said an internal grid memo revealed that ‘there wasn’t enough energy going into it to meet demand’<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GB NEWS<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are quite well connected to our neighbours. That’s one area where there has been quite a lot of investment, but the system relies upon a free flow of energy and upon countries being able to call upon one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

She explained that, in situations such as the soaring temperatures on June 23, the \u201csafety protocols dictate that you need to start rationing demand. <\/p>\n

Ms Samuel continued: \u201cThat means you lower the voltage. You say it’s going to take a little bit longer to boil your kettle while we work out how to get more generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the Times columnist alleged that the Netherlands was cut off altogether during the height of the heatwave. <\/p>\n

\"Pylon<\/p>\n

‘Their report says that someone was actually cut off during that incident on June 23, and it was in the Netherlands’ <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

A Department of Energy and Net Zero spokesman told GB News: \u201cThe UK has one of the most reliable electricity systems in the world. In its 75-year history, there has never been a complete shutdown. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very confident in our security of supply arrangements and that Niso have the tools they need to manage the system. At no time has there been any concern about being able to meet demand, even during the current heatwave.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Neso spokesman also told The People\u2019s Channel that: \u201cDuring an unprecedented period of extreme heat and tight margins across Great Britain and Europe, the electricity system operated securely. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo customer demand was disconnected, frequency and voltage remained within statutory limits, and no lines or cables were overloaded. A full review into the analysis of system and market operation is underway and will be published.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding claims made by whistleblowers, the body said it takes such allegations \u201cextremely seriously and has commissioned an independent external investigation led by Eversheds Sutherland, reporting to an independent panel. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe terms of reference for this investigation are still being finalised and will be published on Nico’s website shortly. To provide transparency both for Neso staff and for our external stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Britain has been accused of \u201ccutting off the Netherlands\u201d during the recent heatwaves as the nation\u2019s power grid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":699016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,1344,59,50,56,54,55,88857],"class_list":["post-699015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-energy","tag-gb","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-video-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}