Explosion at Berrimah substation leaves homes without power

An explosion occurred at the Berrimah substation in Darwin shortly before 8:00am. A Power and Water Corporation worker was taken to hospital with minor burns to an arm and a leg and was reported to be in a stable condition. About 4,700 homes in Anula, Holtze, Berrimah, Winnelie and Leanyer lost power when eight feeders stopped working. The entire substation was shut down and was not to be re-energised until after an investigation. The cause was not known. A company spokesperson said there was probably smoke and carbon damage, and that equipment would need to be dismantled to reach the switchgear. Investigators had not given a clear timeframe because of the risk of a secondary explosion. Power was later restored to the affected properties. The operator warned that further minor outages were possible while the system was adjusted, and that parts of the substation might return to service in anywhere from 48 hours to a week, depending on the damage.

The cause of the fault was not reported.

1. Post-incident work at a substation should wait until isolation and safe access are confirmed.
2. Operators should tell customers that restoration may bring further short outages while loads are shifted.
3. Where a secondary explosion cannot be ruled out, investigation timing and access should follow that risk rather than a fixed restoration clock.

abc.net.au/news/2017-08-30/darwin-homes-without-power-after-explosi...