Lightning reported to start fire at Bhadradri thermal power station transformer

What happened

On 29 June 2024, Telangana Today reported that lightning struck the first-unit power transformer at Bhadradri Thermal Power Station in Manugur, Kothagudem district, and that a fire broke out. Firefighters attended and were working to extinguish the flames when the report was filed. The report said it was not yet clear how the incident occurred, noting that power plants are fitted with lightning arresters. No injuries, outage figures or damage assessment were reported.

Contributing factors

The report attributes the fire to a lightning strike on the transformer. It does not say whether the installed arresters operated, failed, or were relevant to the fire. Social media claims of an accident were described as rumours and are not treated as established.

Lessons learned

1. After a lightning-related fire at a power-station transformer, confirm what protection was in place and whether it operated, rather than assuming an arrester failure.
2. Keep the public account limited to what responders and the operator have confirmed while the fire is still being fought.
3. Separate unverified social media claims from the reported sequence until an investigation is available.

More lessons on weather and external hazards, emergency response and public communication, investigation and fleet-wide checks, from every incident on the register.

Source

telanganatoday.com