Substation transformer fire disrupts power in Cape Girardeau

What happened

In the early hours of 23 December 2022, power went out in Cape Girardeau between midnight and 1:30 a.m. The Cape Girardeau Fire Department was dispatched around 1:35 a.m. to the intersection of N. Silver Springs Road and Independence Street for a transformer fire at the Ameren UE substation. The fire department said the fire caused outages on the west and north sides of the city. It was contained just after 3 a.m., after which Ameren crews assessed the damage and began repairs.

A power line near Mt. Auburn Road was also reported down. Repairs were expected to take at least four hours and possibly longer because of the weather and the extent of the damage. Power was restored to the remaining customers late that night.

Contributing factors

The cause of the transformer fire is not reported. Ameren crews said weather and the extent of the damage could lengthen repairs. A generator problem at one proposed warming site is also reported, but it is not linked to the substation fire.

Lessons learned

1. A substation transformer fire can interrupt supply across large parts of a city until the fire is contained and the damage assessed.
2. Repair times should be treated as uncertain when weather and the scale of damage are both still being assessed.
3. Sites offered as shelter during an outage should be checked for a working generator before residents are sent there.

Source

kfvs12.com