Three energy companies have agreed to pay a total of £10.5 million in connection with the widespread power cuts that left around 1.1 million customers in the U.K. without electricity Aug. 9, 2019.
Hornsea One Ltd., the operator of the Hornsea One offshore wind farm that is partly owned by Ørsted A/S, and RWE AG, which runs the Little Barford gas plant, each agreed to pay £4.5 million for falling offline after a lightning strike hit a transmission circuit north of London.
Meanwhile, electricity distributor UK Power Networks Holdings Ltd. also agreed to pay £1.5 million, because it started reconnecting customers without directive from National Grid PLC's Electricity System Operator, which could have been detrimental to the recovery of the system.
The combined amount will go into the a redress fund managed by U.K. energy regulator Ofgem.