Transformer fire at Gurugram substation triggers widespread power outage

What happened

A fire broke out in the main transformer at the 220 KV power station in Sector-72, Gurugram, Haryana, on a Friday evening at around 7:50 pm. According to Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), a technical fault caused an oil leak in the current transfer circuit, which escalated before the operator could trip the breaker, leading to a transformer explosion and fire. The blast ruptured the collars of the Current Transformer, triggering faults in adjacent systems.

Two 220 kV substations in Sector 56 and Sector 52, along with five linked 66 KV substations in sectors 15, 38, 44, 46 and 56, lost supply, causing a large-scale blackout. Rapid Metro services were briefly halted. Electricity department staff repaired the circuit and fully restored the system by 10:10 pm the same night.

Contributing factors

Officials stated the primary cause was excessive heat (thermal heating), which led to an oil leak in the current transfer circuit that escalated before the breaker could be tripped, resulting in an explosion and fire that ruptured Current Transformer collars.

Lessons learned

1. Thermal monitoring on transformer current transfer circuits allows breaker tripping before an oil leak escalates to explosion.
2. Interconnected substation networks need segregation to prevent one transformer fault from tripping adjacent 220 kV and 66 kV sites.
3. Clear coordination between distribution utility engineers speeds circuit repair and limits blackout duration after a substation fire.

More lessons on detection and monitoring, spacing, layout and fire spread, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Transformer model and age
• Cost of the damage and repairs
• Exact duration of Rapid Metro halt

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

aninews.in