The Observer view on Britain’s blackout | Observer editorial
Nearly a million people without power; parts of the rail network crippled; Newcastle airport plunged into darkness; a hospital temporarily without power. Friday's power cut caused chaos across much of Britain's transport network, leaving people stranded at stations for hours and causing traffic light failures across parts of the country.
The National Grid has pointed out that this was caused by a highly unusual event: two simultaneous power station failures, one at a gas-fired power station in Cambridgeshire, the other at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. It also said the system operated "as planned" in reaction to the resulting fall in power frequency, by disconnecting "an isolated portion of electricity demand", allowing power to be restored quickly. A cyber attack or wind power supply problems - which critics of renewable energy have been quick to try to pin the disruption on - have been ruled out.
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