Transformer explosion at Shawnee substation cuts power to 22,000 customers
June 2021Published 18 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Shawnee substation near Shawnee Mission Parkway and Lackman Road in Shawnee, Kansas
- Operator
- Evergy
- What
- Transformer explosion and fire
- Injuries
- None reported
- Cause
- Not reported
Get the next one by email
Free alerts on grid infrastructure incidents in the United States, and an email when EIR-1043 is updated. No account needed; unsubscribe in one click.
Confirm your email and every substation and transformer incident on the register arrives at once as a spreadsheet (CSV), free.
Get a free sample brief Three complete verified records and the incidents-per-GW table, by email within a minute.
We will also email you about the register's paid records and plans, at most once a week and three times in all. You can stop these at any time. By signing up you agree to the privacy policy.
Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Evergy
What happened
A transformer explosion and fire occurred at an Evergy substation near Shawnee Mission Parkway and Lackman Road in Shawnee, Kansas, at approximately 8:30pm. Emergency dispatchers were flooded with 911 calls reporting an explosion and fire. Firefighters arrived to find a small fire on equipment inside the substation, with pieces of porcelain from the transformer scattered in the surrounding neighbourhood. Evergy workers arrived shortly before 9pm to begin containment work. An Evergy worker indicated the oil fire would need to burn itself out before full repairs could be made.
The explosion knocked out power to just over 12,000 Evergy customers in northern Johnson County and almost 10,000 customers of the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in Wyandotte County, also affecting BPU's Nearman Power Plant and three BPU substations. Power was restored to BPU customers by around 9:30pm and to most Evergy customers by 10pm. No injuries were reported and there was no property damage reported outside the substation.
Contributing factors
The source does not state a specific technical cause for the transformer explosion.
Lessons learned
- Oil filled transformer fires may need to burn themselves out before repairs can start, extending restoration time.
- A substation transformer failure can affect power supply to customers of other utilities and their generation assets.
More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Cause of the transformer explosion
- Transformer model and age
- Cost of repairs and downtime
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Other entries that name Shawnee
Published 2026-09-18. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
