NGET has agreed to a $23 million settlement. This comes on the heels of their inability to effectively monitor and maintain assets at the Harker substation. The settlement stems from allegations that NGET failed to adequately maintain critical infrastructure. This happened over a period of investigation that extended from November 2016 through November 2021. The Harker substation serves over 4 million customers across North West England. Aside from reducing costs, it is an important tool for deploying renewable energy resources within the distribution network.
The investigation revealed alarming issues, including chipping concrete that left visible steel reinforcements. Overall this casts serious doubt on the reliability and safety of electrical service in the region. In 2022, NGET finally made repairs on the 38 affected assets at Harker, rectifying many of the deficiencies regulators admonished them for failing to resolve.
The Harker substation is one of the many connections to consumers that keeps Harker and consumers across the North West interconnected. It connects to the 132kV transmission grid in Scotland. This connection is crucial for ensuring robust network infrastructure across the Anglo-Scottish border, facilitating the transmission of electricity and supporting renewable generation efforts.
NGET and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission have come a long way. They signed contracts with Hitachi Energy and NKT for the Eastern Green Link 3 high voltage direct current electricity transmission project. This is a concurrent project that aims to increase electricity transmission capacity throughout the UK. At the same time, it addresses the surging demand for clean energy innovations.
NGET’s behaviour throughout the investigation also amounted to a breach of Section 9 of the Electricity Act 1989 and SLC B7 of NGET’s Special Licence Conditions. This raised concerns from regulators. As Cathryn Scott, a former commissioner of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities put it, reliability underlies everything in electric service.
“Delays and asset failures risk reliability issues, which ultimately impact consumers.” – Cathryn Scott
Scott further noted, “This has been a complex and detailed investigation, and it was concerning that NGET failed to adequately monitor, maintain and repair some civil assets at Harker 132kV substation during the period being investigated.”
In fact, we’re in the middle of demolishing and expanding the aging Harker substation. This piece is a continuation of the larger, years long Harker Energy Enablement project. This combined initiative significantly increases capacity on the Scotland-England route. Additionally, it smartens the grid in advance of future, coming, renewable generation and energy storage.
“It is right that NGET has accepted its failings at this substation,” Scott stated. “Local investment programmes by National Grid and other networks (including 400kV and 132kV substation rebuilds) highlight Harker’s role in enabling cross-border power flows and clean energy integration.”