Fault at Farragut Substation causes brief New York power flicker

What happened

On the night of 14 December 2023, a fault in a Con Edison transmission line at the Farragut Substation on John Street, near the Brooklyn waterfront, caused lights to flicker for about a second across New York City, with reports also from Long Island and New Jersey, before voltage recovered. Witnesses described an explosion and smoke at the substation, and a brief flash was reported. Fire alarms were set off.

Elevators and escalators were affected, including in the transit system, and some people were trapped and later freed. Subway service between Grand Central Terminal and Wall Street was halted. Officials said the equipment involved was damaged and that redundant transformers kept supply on.

Contributing factors

The source says Con Edison employees were restoring a transmission line when a piece of high-voltage electrical equipment failed and a voltage dip occurred. No further cause is reported.

Lessons learned

1. Work to restore a transmission line can coincide with failure of high-voltage equipment and a short voltage dip.
2. Redundant transformers can keep supply on after a single equipment failure.
3. Elevators, alarms and transit equipment can trip on a flicker lasting about a second, so reset and rescue arrangements matter even when the grid recovers quickly.

Source

abc7ny.com