RTE transformer failure under heatwave cuts power to households in Finistère

June 2026Published 7 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantElectrical

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From the recordRoot cause Failed part

Where: Ergué-Gabéric near Quimper in Finistère
Operator: RTE
What: Transformer failed cutting power to 106000 customers
Injuries: None reported
Cause: Accidental failure linked to intense heat

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What happened

A transformer operated by RTE, France's electricity transmission system operator, failed on Tuesday evening at around 9 p.m. at Ergué-Gabéric, a commune near Quimper in Finistère. The failure cut power to up to 106,000 customers. By Wednesday morning, approximately 68,000 households in southwestern Finistère remained without electricity. The Finistère prefecture attributed the incident to an accidental failure linked to intense heat, as the region was under a red heatwave alert with Météo-France issuing red alerts for 58 departments nationally.

RTE and Enedis teams worked overnight on securing and restoring supply, with full restoration not expected before the end of the day. Care homes for dependent elderly residents affected by the outage were provided with backup generators. No casualties were reported.

Contributing factors

Extreme heat reduced the transmission capacity of electrical equipment and increased network operating constraints, according to the Finistère prefecture and national meteorological alerts.

Lessons learned

Operators should review transformer cooling and load limits ahead of heatwaves, as extreme heat reduced capacity and caused the failure at Ergué-Gabéric.
Transmission and distribution teams must coordinate overnight restoration plans, as supply to 68000 households remained off the next morning.
Care homes need pre-positioned generators during extended outages, as backup units were supplied after the heat-related failure.

More lessons on weather and external hazards, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

Transformer model and age
Exact duration of the outage
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Source

energynews.pro

Published 2026-09-07. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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