Heathrow Airport had enough power to avoid shutdown after fire, Britain’s National Grid says
A reads “Do Not Travel To Heathrow Airport” at Hounslow Central London Underground station on March 21, 2025.
Jaimi Joy | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Heathrow Airport had enough power to remain open on Friday, after the London hub spent most of the day closed due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation, according to Britain’s National Grid.
Heathrow — Europe’s busiest airport — closed down last week after a fire broke out at a nearby electrical substation that supplies it with power.
In comments first reported by the Financial Times, National Grid CEO John Pettigrew said that although the substation in question had been damaged in the “unprecedented” fire, two others supplying power to Heathrow had been operating as normal throughout the day.
“There was no lack of capacity from the substations,” he said. “Each substation individually can provide enough power to Heathrow.”
National Grid, a publicly listed company, owns the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales. The firm confirmed Pettigrew’s comments with CNBC via email on Monday.
A spokesperson for Heathrow argued, however, that it would have been impossible for Heathrow to operate uninterrupted after the fire last week.
“As the National Grid’s chief executive, John Pettigrew, noted, he has never seen a transformer failure like this in his 30 years in the industry,” they said in emailed comments on Monday. “Hundreds of critical systems across the airport were required to be safely powered down and then safely and systematically rebooted. Given Heathrow’s size and operational complexity, safely restarting operations after a disruption of this magnitude was a significant challenge.”
Speaking to the BBC on Saturday, Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye defended the airport’s response to what he labeled a “major incident.”
“We have other substations but to switch them in takes time,” he said. “The situation was not created at Heathrow Airport, it was created outside the airport and we had to deal with the consequences.”
Heathrow has ordered an internal probe into the shutdown and its crisis management plan, while the U.K. government has commissioned its own investigation into the incident.
More than 1,300 flights had been scheduled to take off from or arrive at Heathrow on Friday, according to news agency Reuters. More than 120 that were already airborne when Heathrow closed were diverted to other airports or returned to their city of departure. The disruption is widely expected to cost airlines millions of dollars.
As the situation unfolded on Friday, European travel and leisure stocks saw a broad selloff. British Airways owner IAG shed around 1.9% of its value, while Lufthansa lost 1.7%, and Easyjet was down almost 1%. Many regional airline stocks ended Friday’s trading session lower, despite recovering from deeper losses seen earlier in the session.
On Monday, Europe’s travel and leisure shares were trading around 0.4% higher, with IAG up 0.9% and Lufthansa gaining 0.3% by 1:20 p.m. in London.
In a statement on Friday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) — a trade body representing 340 airlines that collectively account for 80% of global air traffic — slammed Heathrow’s response to the substation fire.
“This is yet another case of Heathrow letting down both travelers and airlines,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said. “How is it that critical infrastructure — of national and global importance — is totally dependent on a single power source without an alternative. If that is the case — as it seems — then it is a clear planning failure by the airport.”
Walsh added that the incident also raised questions about who should bear the costs of taking care of disrupted travelers.
“We must find a fairer allocation of passenger care costs than airlines alone picking up the tab when infrastructure fails,” he said.
Stephen Rooney, a specialist in tourism economics at Oxford Economics, estimated in a note on Friday that the closure would translate to £4.5 million ($5.82 million) in lost tourism revenue for the U.K., while Jonathan Owens, senior lecturer in operations and supply chain management at the University of Salford’s Business School, told CNBC on Monday that the economic impact would be “massive.”
“The costs associated with diverting flights to alternate airports are significant, both in terms of financial implications and logistical challenges,” he said via email.
“Flights diverted to other airports would need to cover additional fuel, air traffic control services and airport fees … Passengers affected by flight diversions or cancellations are very likely to seek compensation because of hotel accommodations, meals and taxis, which all add to the cost for airlines.”
On today’s exciting episode of Quick Charge, we don’t even mention “you know who,” focusing instead on EV news from Rivian, Lucid, Nissan, Ford, and what it takes to make a MAN in the heavy truck space. Check it out!
Sure, Nissan is pushing back production estimates on its yet-to-begin-production Nissan LEAF and Ford’s EV sales were down significantly in Q2, but there’s more to the story than the “Faux News” crowd would have you believe. Plus: some new electric success stories from Porsche and a disappointing (but still cool) dive into some new home backup battery tech.
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he 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Battery electric cars sold today in Europe produce 73% less life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than gas cars, even when factoring in production, according to new research from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). That’s a big improvement from 2021, when the gap was 59%.
Meanwhile, hybrids and plug-in hybrids haven’t made much progress. The study confirms what clean transportation advocates have been saying for years: If Europe wants to seriously slash emissions from its dirtiest mode of transport – ICE passenger cars, which pump out nearly 75% of the sector’s pollution – it needs to go all-in on battery EVs.
“Battery electric cars in Europe are getting cleaner faster than we expected and outperform all other technologies, including hybrids and plug-in hybrids,” said ICCT researcher Dr. Marta Negri. Credit the continent’s rapid shift to renewables and the higher energy efficiency of EVs.
The makeup of the EU’s power grid is changing fast. By 2025, renewables are expected to generate 56% of Europe’s electricity, up from 38% in 2020. And that’s just the beginning: the share could hit 86% by 2045. Since cars bought today could still be on the road two decades from now, the growing use of clean electricity will only boost EVs’ climate benefits over time.
Gas-powered cars, on the other hand, will stay mostly tied to fossil fuels as the cost and availability of biofuels and e-fuels are still uncertain.
Hybrids and plug-in hybrids only cut lifetime emissions by 20% and 30%, respectively, compared to gas cars. That’s partly because plug-in hybrids tend to run on gas more than expected. So while hybrids aren’t useless, they’re just not good enough if we’re serious about climate goals.
Countering EV myths with hard data
There’s been a lot of noise lately about whether EVs are really that green. The ICCT study takes aim at the bad data and misleading claims floating around, like ignoring how the grid gets cleaner over time or using unrealistic gas mileage figures.
It’s true that manufacturing EVs creates more emissions upfront – about 40% more than making a gas car, mostly due to the battery. But EVs make up for it quickly: that extra emissions load is usually wiped out after about 17,000 km (10,563 miles) of driving, which most drivers hit in a year or two.
“We’ve recently seen auto industry leaders misrepresenting the emissions math on hybrids,” said Dr. Georg Bieker, senior researcher at the ICCT. “But life-cycle analysis is not a choose-your-own-adventure exercise.”
ICCT’s new analysis includes emissions from vehicle and battery production and recycling, fuel and electricity production, and fuel consumption and maintenance. It even adjusts for how the electricity mix will change in the coming years – a key detail when measuring plug-in hybrid performance.
Read more: Volkswagen’s 47% BEV sales jump includes a 24% boost in the US
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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![Here's our closest look at the Kia EV2 caught testing in the Alps [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/Kia-EV2-closest-look.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
The EV2 may be Kia’s smallest electric vehicle, but it has a big presence on the road. Kia promises it won’t feel so small when you’re inside, thanks to clever storage and flexible seating. After a prototype was spotted testing in the Alps, we are getting our closest look at the Kia EV2 so far.
Kia EV2 spotted in the Alps offers our closest look yet
Kia first unveiled the Concept EV2 during its 2025 EV Day event (see our recap of the event) in April, a preview of its upcoming entry-level electric SUV.
Despite its small size, Kia claims it will “redefine urban electric mobility” with new innovative features and more. Kia has yet to say exactly how big it will be, but given it will sit below the EV3, it’s expected to be around 4,000 mm (157″) in length. The EV3 is 4,300 mm (169.3″) in length.
Looking at it from the side, it sits much higher than you’d expect, similar to Kia’s larger EV9. During an exclusive event at Milan Design Week in April, Kia gave a sneak peek of the interior.
Kia said the interior is inspired by a “picnic in the city,” or in other words, a retreat from the busy city life. With a flat-floor design and flexible seating, you can quite literally have a picnic in the city.
Although we’ve seen the EV2 out in public testing a few times, a new video provides the closest look at Kia’s upcoming electric SUV.
The video, courtesy of CarSpyMedia, shows an EV2 prototype testing in the Alps with European license plates. There’s also a “Testfahrt” sticker on the back, which translates to “Test Car” in German.
As the prototype drives by, you can get a good look at it from all angles. Like in past sightings, the front features stacked vertical headlights with Kia’s signature Star Map lighting. Even the rear lights appear to be identical to those of the concept.
The interior will feature Kia’s next-gen ccNC (connected car Navigation Cockpit) infotainment system. The setup includes dual 12.3″ instrument clusters and infotainment screens in a curved panoramic display. Depending on the model, it could also include an added 5.3″ climate control screen.
Last month, a crossover coupe-like model was spotted on a car carrier in Korea, hinting at a new variant. The new model featured a design similar to that of the Genesis GV60.
Kia’s CEO, Ho Sung Song, also recently told Autocar that a smaller, more affordable EV was in the works to sit below the EV2. Song said the new EV, priced under €25,000 ($30,000), was “one area we are studying and developing.”
With the EV4 and EV5 launching this year, followed by the EV2 in 2026, it could be closer toward the end of the decade before we see it hit the market. Next-gen EV6 and EV9 models are also due out around then.
The Kia EV2 is set to launch in Europe and other global regions in 2026. Unfortunately, it’s not expected to make the trip to the US.
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