Substation fire in Plymouth Michigan cuts power to thousands of DTE customers

What happened

A DTE Energy substation in Plymouth, Michigan caught fire on the evening of 16 August 2017. The substation is near Farmer and Theodore streets. Neighbours reported hearing a loud bang before smoke was seen rising over the area. Fire and police departments attended the scene. No injuries were reported. Thousands of DTE Energy customers lost power, and the utility said it was unclear at the time exactly how many customers were affected.

DTE expected 40 to 50 percent of affected customers to be restored by late the following morning, with the remainder later in the day. The cause of the fire had not been determined at the time of reporting.

Contributing factors

Not reported. The cause of the fire had not been determined at the time of publication.

Lessons learned

1. A substation fire near residential streets can affect thousands of customers, so operators must map and plan for the load each site carries.
2. Neighbours heard a loud bang before smoke appeared, so utilities should consider acoustic sensors for early detection at substations.
3. Fire and police attended a live substation fire with no injuries, so joint training with emergency services supports safe response near energised gear.

More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, detection and monitoring, worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Exact number of customers affected
• Cause of the fire
• Duration of full power restoration
• Cost of repairs and lost supply

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

Source

clickondetroit.com