The Earl of Courtown (Con)

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement. I also thank NESO for its swift and diligent work. The findings of the report are deeply concerning. It is clear, as the Minister said, that National Grid failed to address a known issue for over seven years—a failure that is simply inexcusable. The central lesson from the Heathrow blackout is the vital role that critical national infrastructure plays in ensuring both our energy security and our national security. Shortly after the incident at Heathrow, events in Spain and Portugal served as a stark warning of what can happen when energy systems are left vulnerable. Public transport was brought to a standstill, payment systems collapsed, and millions were left unable to cook, travel or contact their loved ones. In the case of North Hyde, the blackout disrupted schools, the London Underground and Hillingdon Hospital, and affected nearly 70,000 customers, some of whom were forced to leave their homes. That is the very real cost of neglecting our energy resilience. Let us be clear: this Government are jeopardising our energy security. We are deeply fortunate to be a country surrounded by our own gas fields, yet instead of using these domestic resources, the Government have chosen to rely on imports, including gas imported from the very same North Sea fields that they are barring Britain from accessing. We are seeing gas wells filled with concrete, contingency options dismissed and our energy independence systematically dismantled. In the light of growing geopolitical instability, what steps will the Government take to strengthen the resilience of our energy infrastructure? What assessment has been made of how our current energy targets increase our reliance on Chinese imports? Just last year, our intelligence services warned of Chinese state-backed cyber operations aimed at disrupting critical infrastructure in the event of conflict. At the same time, the Government are racing to tie our energy future to Chinese technology, from solar panels and rare earths to batteries. We have already witnessed China restrict the export of key minerals in its trade dispute with the United States. We have seen reports of kill switches in Chinese-manufactured inverters, and US intelligence has flagged the potential presence of surveillance devices in Chinese wind turbines. Why are we, in effect, handing over the keys to our energy future to the Chinese? I turn to the findings of the report. Will the Minister confirm who at National Grid made the decision to delay critical maintenance on the transformer in 2022 and how they will be held accountable? What are the penalties for breaching licence conditions, and what enforcement mechanisms will be used? The report, as the Minister said, reveals that the North Hyde site failed to meet modern standards for physical barriers between transformers. Can the Minister confirm whether the Government have instructed National Grid to review all substations with older transformers that predate current safety requirements? Finally, with global tensions rising and the risk to infrastructure increasing, what are the Government doing to ensure the long-term resilience of our energy system? We want a clean energy future, one powered by nuclear, small modular reactors and the next wave of British innovation, but above all we need energy that is secure, affordable and reliable. This Government are making us increasingly dependent on foreign imports, all the while turning their back on British resources. I urge the Minister to return to this House with a clear plan for safeguarding the resilience and sovereignty of the UK’s energy supply.