NESO accused of cover-up over UK blackout threat
There was a reason why responsibility for the electricity system was hived off the National Grid and passed to the new state-owned NESO
The National Grid were not prepared to play fast and loose with the grid, unlike NESO who ultimately have to do what Ed Miliband tells them to do.
On July 7th, The Telegraph reported:
Britain’s grid operator has been accused of covering up system failures that threaten to trigger blackouts.
Bosses at the National Energy Systems Operator (Neso) allegedly ordered control-room staff to hide information that showed the grid was not being run securely, according to Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary.
This allegedly involved ordering staff not to keep permanent records of operational decisions, to ensure there was no paper trail.
Ms Coutinho has written to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) demanding it open an investigation into the alleged incidents.
Neso, a government body backed by the taxpayer, is responsible for keeping the country’s lights on and balancing supply with demand.
It was carved out of National Grid shortly after Ed Miliband became Energy Secretary in 2024.
It has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after June’s record-breaking heatwave forced it to issue electricity margin notices, which urge power plant operators to ramp up production to help balance the system.
Ms Coutinho said on Tuesday that a whistleblower had informed her that staff were told not keep permanent records late last month, when the grid’s frequency destabilised and dropped below Neso’s strict operating limit, which can trigger widespread blackouts.
Members of Neso’s corporate affairs team, who manage media and government relations, also allegedly interfered in the control room, telling operators what to do in an attempt to protect the organisation’s reputation, Ms Coutinho claimed.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Coutinho said: “If true, this is nothing short of a scandal.”
In a letter to Paul Arnold, the information commissioner, she said: “I have been contacted by whistleblowers who allege that, during periods of system stress, senior Neso managers have instructed operators in the control room to keep ‘live documents’ with no version history.
“This is allegedly in order to ensure that there is no audit trail or records of how key operational decisions are made and ensure that full records are not preserved for the purposes of Freedom of Information.”
Neso has to keep grid frequency – the rate at which current and voltage alternate – at 50 hertz (AC electricity naturally swings between +v to -v 50 times a second), with no more than 0.4 percent variation.
Fluctuations beyond the statutory limits can cause substations to trip out – potentially causing blackouts.
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