Xi’an substation explosion causes local blackout

June 2016Published 15 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

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supply cut for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate

From the recordRoot cause

Where: Substation in Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, China
What: Exploded after breakdown and caught fire at 00:25 on 18 June 2016
Response: Fire extinguished in about one hour
Cause: Breakdown
Outcome: Sudden blackout affected local semiconductor manufacturers

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What happened

A substation in Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, China, was reported to have exploded at about 00:25 on 18 June 2016 after a breakdown, and to have caught fire. The fire was reported extinguished in about one hour. A sudden blackout was reported to have affected local semiconductor manufacturers. LONGi and its subsidiary Lerri Solar, both sited in Xi’an, said they were not damaged or affected because their plants were far from the explosion. The extent of damage to the substation, any injuries, and when supply was restored are not reported.

Contributing factors

The report attributes the explosion to a breakdown. No further cause is given.

Lessons learned

A substation breakdown can escalate to explosion and fire in minutes, so operators must fit early fault detection on transformers and switchgear.
Even when a substation fire is out in one hour, supply loss can still hit industrial loads, so contingency plans must cover rapid restoration.
Operators must verify which sites lost supply rather than assume distance protects them, to avoid incorrect impact assessments.

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

Not yet known

Extent of damage to the substation
When supply was restored
Any injuries
Equipment model and age

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Source

energytrend.com

Published 2026-09-15. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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The record behind this entry

The record behind EIR-0866 holds the site, the operator, the owner, the root cause and the fire service response as fields you can filter, count and export, with its source and their verification status. The cause is not hidden: the contributing factors above give it as the sources report it. The record adds it as a field. Companies are named in the roles the sources give them. Being named is not a finding of fault.

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Operator: •••••••••
Owner: •••••••••
Fire service response: ••••••••••
Sources: ••••••••

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