High-voltage flash and fire at Patuli substation in Kolkata
Mar 2020Published 17 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Patuli substation, south Kolkata
- Operator
- Calcutta Electric Supply
- What
- High-voltage flash and fire at 11 kV substation
- Injuries
- None reported
- Cause
- Fault in substation switch
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Calcutta Electric Supply
What happened
On 27 March 2020, a high-voltage flash and fire occurred at the Patuli substation, an 11 kV distribution substation operated by Calcutta Electric Supply in south Kolkata. The substation shut down at around 6 p.m. with an arc flash and a loud bang. Thick black smoke prompted residents to alert the fire brigade. Seven fire tenders attended and the fire was doused by 7:10 p.m. Several thousand households in the affected area lost supply, with power switched off in some areas as a safety measure while supply was rerouted from other feeders.
Calcutta Electric Supply said power to the affected zone would be restored before midnight. Parts of the substation were left waterlogged from firefighting, and the utility said the equipment would need to dry before the cause could be investigated and rectified. Injuries are not reported in the available source. The event was described as the first major emergency in Kolkata after a lockdown was imposed on 23 March 2020.
Contributing factors
A Calcutta Electric Supply official said a fault had occurred in the substation switch, leading to a high-voltage flash and the supply breakdown. The full cause was not established at the time of reporting because the equipment was waterlogged and had to dry before inspection.
Lessons learned
- A fault in a substation switch can cause an arc flash and immediate shutdown, so operators should inspect switches on a fixed schedule.
- Water from firefighting leaves substation equipment waterlogged, so operators must plan drying time before inspection.
- Alternative feeders allow quick rerouting of supply after a substation outage, so operators should keep this option ready.
More lessons on worker safety and safe systems of work, fire suppression and firefighting, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Full cause after equipment dries
- Time until substation returns to service
- Cost of damage and lost supply
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Other entries that name Kolkata
Published 2026-09-17. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
