Fire spreads into Alma Street substation in Newport, cutting power to 294 customers

What happened

At around 11pm on Saturday 6 March 2021 a fire broke out at the Alma Street substation in Pill, Newport, and 294 customers lost electricity. Western Power said refuse that had been left next to the substation by unknown persons was set on fire, and the fire quickly spread into the substation compound, causing a substantial amount of damage and destruction to its equipment. Engineers worked through the night and the following morning on emergency replacement of the damaged equipment.

All customers were back on supply at 1.50pm on Sunday, almost 15 hours after the outage began. Western Power asked the public to report any issues they notice with a substation.

Contributing factors

Refuse left next to the substation by unknown persons was set on fire, and the fire spread into the substation compound.

Lessons learned

1. Keep the ground around substation compounds clear of refuse and other combustible material, and remove fly-tipped waste promptly.
2. Include the risk of external fires spreading into compounds in substation security and fire risk assessments, especially in built-up areas.
3. Keep replacement equipment and trained crews available for rapid emergency replacement at distribution substations.
4. Give the public an easy way to report hazards around substations, such as dumped rubbish or damaged fencing.

Source

walesonline.co.uk