Transformer explosion in Springfield, Massachusetts cuts power to over 4,000 customers

What happened

On the night of Wednesday 10 July 2019, more than 4,000 customers in Springfield, Massachusetts lost power. An Eversource outage map showed 4,208 customers affected around 8:40 p.m. Springfield Police announced shortly before 9 p.m. that a transformer had exploded on Dwight Road, affecting thousands of electrical customers in the city. An Eversource spokesman said an equipment malfunction caused the outage. Power was restored to most customers within an hour, and some customers waited a little longer. The report does not say what type of transformer failed, whether there was a fire, what caused the malfunction, or whether anyone was hurt.

Contributing factors

Eversource attributed the outage to an equipment malfunction. No further cause was reported.

Lessons learned

1. A single transformer failure can interrupt supply to thousands of customers, so operators should plan how supply can be switched or restored after a street-level transformer explosion.
2. Most customers were back on supply within about an hour, which shows the value of a clear night-time restoration plan even when the failed equipment is not yet fully described.
3. When a transformer explosion is reported only as an equipment malfunction, operators should still record the equipment type, location and cause so that similar assets can be checked.

Source

wwlp.com