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Grid infrastructureUnited StatesEIR-1191

Substation fire briefly cuts power to about 6,000 in North Waco

Dec 2017Published 23 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

MinorElectricalProvisional
Estimated damageEstimated by the register's adjusterHow? Know the real figure?
Figure hidden: shown to subscribersLow confidence
supply cut for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate
Where
Waco, Texas
What
Substation fire left thousands briefly without power
Cause
Not reported

Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Oncor

What happened

An electrical fire at a substation in North Waco was reported to have left about 6,000 residents, street lights and businesses without power for about 40 minutes on a Thursday afternoon in December 2017. Oncor employees were reported working at the substation at 27th Street and Colonial Avenue. Power was reported restored in less than an hour. The cause of the fire was not reported.

Contributing factors

The source does not report a cause or the equipment involved.

Lessons learned

  1. A local substation fire can interrupt supply to thousands of customers even when power is back within an hour.
  2. Operators should be ready to restore distribution quickly after a substation fire.
  3. Where public reports do not identify the failed component, operators should record the cause for later review.

More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, emergency response and public communication, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

  • Name of the substation
  • Operator of the site
  • Cause of the fire
  • Any injuries reported

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

Source

wacotrib.com

Published 2026-09-23. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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