Explosion at Berrimah substation injures a worker and cuts power in Darwin
Aug 2017Published 24 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Berrimah substation in Darwin
- Operator
- Power and Water Corporation
- What
- Explosion shut down substation and cut power to 4700 homes
- Injuries
- Worker suffered minor burns to arm and leg
- Cause
- Not known
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Power and Water
What happened
Just before 8:00am on 29 August 2017, an explosion at the Berrimah substation in Darwin injured a Power and Water Corporation worker, who was taken to hospital with minor burns and was reported to be in a stable condition. The blast shut the whole substation and stopped eight feeders, leaving about 4,700 homes without power in Anula, Holtze, Berrimah, Winnelie and Leanyer. The cause was not known. A company spokesman said the site probably had smoke and carbon damage and that crews would have to isolate equipment and dismantle heavy machinery before they could inspect the switchgear.
The substation was not to be re-energised until after an investigation. Because of the risk of a secondary explosion, investigators gave no clear timeframe for finishing that work. Power and Water warned of further minor outages as loads shifted during restoration, and said that, depending on the damage, parts of the substation might be back between 48 hours and a week, though it was too early to say when it would be fully back. Power was later restored to the affected properties.
Contributing factors
The cause of the fault was not reported. Investigators had not yet accessed the switchgear.
Lessons learned
- After a substation explosion, keep the site isolated until crews can safely access damaged switchgear.
- Tell customers that restoring supply may bring further short outages as loads shift.
- Do not set a firm return-to-service date until the damage, including any secondary explosion risk, is known.
More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Cause of the explosion
- Switchgear 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.
Published 2026-09-24. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
