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Extreme Solar Events

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) on securing this important debate and on giving us an interesting presentation. I am sure that this matter is not well known to most people; none the less, as he said, it is extremely important. Before I turn to the specific issue of solar storms, I would like to thank my hon. Friend for the wider interest that he has demonstrated in this matter. I am aware of his work on the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee which, as he pointed out, has considered funding for research. In the course of my reply, I shall also expand on the answer provided in response to my hon. Friend's recent parliamentary question on the need to protect the national grid from extreme solar weather. A recent article in the New Scientist raised concerns that a repeat of the Carrington event to which my hon. Friend referred could have a major impact on national electricity transmission networks. It prompted a letter from a concerned constituent of the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox) and a debate in both the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly. I therefore very much welcome this opportunity to discuss the issue and to explain the Government's view on the risk that we believe is posed to the UK's electricity network, and the measures that are in place to monitor events and mitigate the risks. National Grid Electricity Transmission owns the England and Wales electricity transmission system, and Scottish Power Transmission Ltd and Scottish Hydro Electric each own part of the transmission system in Scotland. National Grid also has responsibility for overseeing and managing the flow of electricity across the whole of the Great Britain transmission network. My Department maintains close contact with those companies on all network resilience issues. As my hon. Friend said, satellites are capable of giving several hours' warning that a major solar storm has occurred on the sun, and about 30 minutes' warning that the subsequent discharge could impact on the earth. The information is available in real time to National Grid, which has procedures in place that set out the actions that would be taken should such an alert be received. There is also an international research programme to improve understanding of the potential impact of solar storms. It is led by the Electric Power Research Institute based in the USA, to which my hon. Friend referred, and National Grid is a partner in that research. The programme monitors the ongoing low-level solar storms that are detected from time to time by satellites and correlates them with measurements of induced currents on the ground as detected by monitors placed around the globe. In that way, we are gaining experience in interpreting early warning signs of solar storms. My hon. Friend asked whether it was wise to cut the budget. I shall write to my relevant opposite numbers and make an inquiry further to his inquiry. I am not in a position to make a judgment, but I would say to him that, as in so many such matters, the international scientific endeavour is most important. As the UK Government, and through the partnership of National Grid with the US institute, we are able to obtain up-to-the-minute, appropriate science.