Britain's National Grid drops Chinese tech over cybersecurity fears

Britain's National Grid has begun eliminating components supplied by a subsidiary of China-backed Nari Technology from its electricity transmission network due to concerns about cybersecurity, as per the Financial Times on Sunday.

This decision was made in April following consultations with the National Cyber Security Centre, a division of the UK's signals intelligence agency GCHQ, according to a Whitehall official quoted by the newspaper.

An employee at the Nari subsidiary NR Electric UK mentioned that the company no longer had access to sites where the components were installed, and National Grid did not provide a reason for terminating the contracts, as per the FT. Another unnamed source suggested that the decision was related to NR Electric UK components responsible for controlling and balancing the grid to minimize blackout risks.

The report did not clarify whether these components are still present in the electricity transmission network.

As of now, there has been no response from NR Electric UK, National Grid, GCHQ, the UK's energy security department, and the Chinese Embassy in London to Reuters' requests for comments outside regular business hours.

(With Reuters Inputs)