Contractor injured in explosion at Sayreville substation

What happened

An explosion and fire occurred at a JCP&L substation on Main Street in Sayreville while repairs were under way. A contractor working inside the substation sustained burns to the hands and was taken for treatment. About 4,000 people were without power at the peak, and about 1,800 were still without power on Friday evening, with restoration expected overnight. A Saturday update said power had been restored for hundreds of customers. A temporary substation had been brought to the site the previous day because of rolling brownouts.

Contributing factors

The fire is reported to have started while repairs were being made inside the substation, during work to install a temporary substation. The technical cause is not reported.

Lessons learned

1. Substation repair work needs clear isolation and controls before work starts inside live equipment.
2. Temporary substation installations should be sequenced and checked so existing supply problems are not made worse.
3. Outage updates should state how many customers remain off supply and when restoration is expected.

Source

newjersey.news12.com