20 November 2007
Gas and electricity firms operating in Gloucestershire must improve their flood contingency plans in order to better protect their power plants, a local government report has said.
Gloucestershire County Council said yesterday that, to safeguard utilities in the event of future deluges, a shared flood plan should be developed by emergency services, water and energy firms.
During the flooding, a water treatment works in the county was overrun - affecting supplies for 150,000 local homes.
Even more worrying, the Walham electric substation was also under threat before the waters subsided.
The National Grid released a statement in response to the council's findings.
"We acted quickly following the unprecedented floods that threatened our Walham substation in July, building a sturdy medium term flood barrier that will last several years," it said.
"This will give us the time to work with everyone concerned - government, the Environment Agency, our regulator Ofgem and others - to look at the right long-term response to the astonishing events of the summer."
According to the ABI, the total insurance bill for the floods which hit the South in June and July is set to exceed £3 billion.
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