Energy Incident Register
Register / Grid infrastructure / EIR-2195
← Back to the list
Grid infrastructureUnited StatesEIR-2195

Ice storm reported to cause transformer explosion in Crystal Lake, Illinois

2023Published 10 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantElectricalProvisional
Estimated damageModelled by the register's adjusterHow? Know the real figure?
Figure hidden: shown to subscribersMedium confidence
supply cut for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate

What happened

During an ice storm that affected northern Illinois in February 2023, a transformer reported to supply power in Crystal Lake, Illinois exploded. The failure was captured on video and reported by 100.9 The Eagle. The article says the storm left thousands of customers without power, citing CBS News estimates of more than 60,000 outages, NBC Chicago estimates of around 100,000, and ABC 7 reporting that 20,000 still lacked power early on the Friday morning reported.

The article describes the transformer as one of several casualties of the storm. It states that no deaths had been connected to the storm at the time of publication. The source does not name the utility, the transformer's make or age, or the exact time of the failure.

Contributing factors

The source attributes the transformer failure to the ice storm. No further technical cause is given.

Lessons learned

  1. Ice loading on overhead lines, poles and pole-mounted or pad-mounted transformers can overstress equipment, so storm forecasts should trigger ice-load checks and pre-storm inspections.
  2. Operators should inspect transformer bushings, connections and protection after severe weather, and hold spare units ready for rapid replacement.
  3. Restoration plans should prioritise failed units and give the public consistent outage figures, since the sources in this report gave differing estimates.

More lessons on weather and external hazards, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.

Source

101theeagle.com

Other entries that name Crystal

Published 2026-10-10. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

See the register's stories first in Google: add it as a preferred source.

Chart to reuse with this story: Grid infrastructure incidents in the United States, by year, free with a credit (PNG).

Grid infrastructure incidents in the United States: 362 entries, with a free alert for the next one.

Substation and transformer fires: the counts, the latest entries and a free alert for the next one.

Browse the full register or submit an incident.