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Grid infrastructureUnited StatesEIR-1610

Explosion at substation cuts power to thousands in Westerville

May 2024Published 29 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantElectricalProvisional
Estimated damageEstimated by the register's adjusterHow? Know the real figure?
Figure hidden: shown to subscribersMedium confidence
supply cut for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate
From the recordFailed part hidden

Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): AEP Ohio, Westerville Electric

What happened

According to Westerville police, a transformer owned by Westerville Electric on the 700 block of McCorkle Boulevard in Westerville exploded at about 2:40 a.m. on 14 May 2024, leaving about 4,200 customers without power. Smoke was seen from the area of the substation. Residents reported a loud boom and flashing lights, and one resident reported flames and smoke near her home. Three intersections on Maxtown Road were closed while crews investigated. No injuries were reported. Westerville Electric said most of its customers had supply restored by late afternoon. A separate pole fire nearby, affecting AEP Ohio customers, is not part of this incident.

Contributing factors

The cause of the transformer explosion was not reported.

Lessons learned

  1. Where the cause of a substation transformer explosion is not yet known, operators should record what failed and keep the public clear until the site is checked.
  2. Coordinate with local police on road closures so crews can work without putting residents at risk.
  3. Keep outage figures tied to the asset that failed, so a separate nearby fault is not mixed into the same incident.

More lessons on emergency response and public communication, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.

Source

nbc4i.com

Published 2026-09-29. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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