Tornado damages North Substation in Madison

What happened

On 9 December 2023 a tornado crossed the North Substation on East Campbell Road in Madison. Video showed EF2-force winds through the steel structures, and a high-voltage circuit breaker was reported to have taken a direct hit, producing a large explosion recorded on local cameras. The transmission substation, which supplies distribution substations, was damaged. At least 190 power poles were broken in the same event, and the Hendersonville substation was also hit.

About 48,000 Nashville Electric Service customers lost power in the storm; the source does not say how many of those outages were caused by this substation alone. Using warehouse parts and goods from other utilities, the North Substation was reported back in good working order within a few days. Repairs were described as almost complete one year later.

Contributing factors

Direct impact from tornado winds, reported as EF2 force, on substation structures and a high-voltage circuit breaker.

Lessons learned

1. Keep critical high-voltage parts in a utility warehouse so a damaged transmission substation can be returned to service before full repairs are finished.
2. Own excavation and heavy plant, because shared external resources are scarce after a widespread storm.
3. Pre-arrange mutual aid so neighbouring utilities can supply parts quickly.

Source

newschannel5.com