| DTI launches investigation into power outages Stephen Timms, the UK Energy Minister, announced yesterday that the Department of Trade and Industry will launch an investigation into the power outages that affected large areas of south London and parts of Kent on 28th August, and the West Midlands on 5th September. Mr Timms said: "I am grateful to National Grid for the report that they have provided to me on the recent power cuts and the lessons to be learnt. However, I have decided in light of the report that further work needs to be done to look into the wider issues surrounding these power cuts. "We need to understand whether improved communication between National Grid, the distribution companies and their customers could have reduced the disruption caused. "Ofgem and DTI will jointly commission consultants to do some initial fact finding work. These findings will be made public. In addition I have asked the DTI Engineering Inspectorate to conduct a full and independent investigation into all the technical and operational issues taking account of National Grid power failures over the last five years to identify any trends."
•Date:
11th September 2003 • Region: UK •Type:
Article •Topic: Power
management
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