National Energy System Operator: Blackout Risk

Lord Deben Excerpts

Monday 20th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

Many things are being done alongside the changing nature of the system to make sure that it retains its resilience and ability to supply power on a no-failure basis. These include continuing to build out the grid, and bringing forward ancillary services, new forms of artificial inertia, long-duration storage and many other new instruments that the system will have to make sure that it continues on a stable and reliable basis. On the whistleblowers, yes, the investigation team will be led by a law firm, but it will report to a review panel consisting of the chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, the shareholder non-executive director and the Ofgem director-general. That is entirely in line with making sure that whistleblowers’ interests within the energy delivery system are properly protected.

[Lord Deben (Con)]

My Lords, will the Minister please accept that it is very important to ensure that the whistleblowing arrangements work effectively? Otherwise, people will use this opportunity to attack the Government’s excellent policy on moving as rapidly as we can to renewable energy, which is much cheaper and crucial for our security. Will he stand up toughly for the whistleblowers, given that some people, for some reason or other, want to attack the previous Government’s sensible policies, which this Government have continued? Will he make sure that we move to a position in which we are sovereign in our energy?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I could not agree with the noble Lord more. Whistleblowing is and should be an essential part of all these processes. Whistleblowers have to feel safe in what they say so that it can be properly looked at and lessons can be learned if it turns out that they pointed out something that should be done. It is essential that we have an environment in which whistleblowing is protected and where whistleblowers are taken seriously. That is what the Government have done on this occasion, supporting exactly what the noble Lord said about the direction that the system is taking and why it is essential that we do not fall foul of completely unfounded attacks on that system as a result.