Substation fault leaves thousands without power in Padiham

What happened

A fault reported at 09:40 BST affected about 5,000 properties in the BB12 area of Padiham. Electricity North West said an unexpected incident on the high-voltage cable had caused widespread damage to its substation. Engineers attended with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, and generators were ordered, with work expected to continue until 22:00. Most customers were restored just before midday, but a further fault was then found and supplies were switched off remotely while the fire service attended for safety. Power was later restored to 4,000 properties, with work continuing on the remainder.

Contributing factors

The operator said the outage followed an unexpected incident on the high-voltage cable and that a major incident had caused widespread damage to the substation. A second fault was found after most supplies had been restored. No independent cause has been reported.

Lessons learned

1. A fault on a high-voltage cable can damage the substation it feeds and leave thousands of customers off supply.
2. Restoring most customers does not close the incident if a further fault is found; remote isolation while the fire service attends is a recognised safety step.
3. Operators should plan temporary generation and a clear restoration window when substation damage is widespread.

Source

BBC News (bbc.co.uk)