Dispatchers report substation fire and power outages in Calhoun County

What happened

Dispatchers told a local news outlet that a large power outage in Calhoun County, Michigan, on 12 April 2024 was the result of a fire at an electrical substation, and that the fire was out by about 5:20 p.m. Consumers Energy had been notified. The utility's outage map showed about 10,200 customers in Calhoun County and about 3,400 in neighbouring Eaton County without power, with outages around Marshall, Battle Creek, Olivet and Bellevue reported around 4:40 p.m.

The report does not name the substation or give a cause. Elsewhere in West Michigan the same day, tens of thousands of Consumers Energy customers were without power amid strong wind gusts, so it is not clear how many of the mapped outages were due to the fire.

Contributing factors

Not reported. Strong wind gusts were affecting West Michigan the same day, but the source does not link them to the substation fire.

Lessons learned

1. Treat early dispatcher reports of a substation fire as an indication only until the operator confirms the asset, the cause and who was affected.
2. Where severe weather and a reported substation fire occur on the same day, separate weather-related outages from those tied to the asset before stating impact figures.
3. An outage map shows customers without power; it does not by itself identify which substation failed.

Source

woodtv.com