Blackout bosses share £1.5m

The company bosses blamed for London's worst ever electricity blackout have shared £1.5million in bonuses.

According to latest financial figures for the parent company National Grid Transco seen by the Standard, chief executive Roger Urwin collected £1.05 million - a ?395,000 bonus on top of his basic pay of £635,000.

And Nick Winser, the board member directly responsible for the UK power network, got a ?172,000 bonus on top of his £275,000 salary, despite joining the board only last April. He also received more than ?100,000 of relocation allowances.

The other directors most directly involved in the day-to-day operation of the National Grid are business services director Steve Holliday, who was paid a ?240,000 bonus and total earnings of £633,000, and finance director Steve Lucas, who got £217,000 and a total package of £611,000.

MPs and unions said it was "appalling" that those responsible for the network should be handed top-up payments.

Liberal Democrat trade spokesman Malcolm Bruce said: "If the lights go out, that is a pretty fundamental failure in the service you are supposed to provide. If you can't keep the lights on you should not get a bonus."

Dougie Rooney, of the union Amicus, said: "This is pretty appalling when the company is not performing. The directors with operational responsibilities were directly responsible for the blackout in London last summer.

"National Grid are failing to train staff or to maintain and replace old equipment."

A spokesman for the London Chamber of Commerce said: "Business in London will question whether the directors merit such big payments in view of the power cuts on their watch." A spokeswoman for electricity consumer-group Energywatch said: "We never object to people receiving such bonuses but we do think they ought to be earned."

Last August's blackout brought the capital to a halt when 400,000 homes and businesses across a huge swathe of south London lost their power for 37 minutes. Transport was left in chaos when power was lost on the Tube. Mayor Ken Livingstone called the blackout "an absolute outrage" and blamed under-investment.