Transformer fire at Vanderbijlpark substation leaves town without power

What happened

According to one press report, a transformer caught fire and exploded at a substation in NW7, Vanderbijlpark, on the afternoon of 27 January 2020. The report says power was lost from about 14:25, leaving most of Vanderbijlpark without electricity, after the mains supply tripped because of the fire. Most suburbs were reported restored by about 16:00. The transformer that burned was reported to be a standby unit that was not feeding any areas at the time. The report says the substation was to be made safe and then assessed. The cause of the fire and explosion had not been confirmed at the time of reporting.

Contributing factors

The cause of the fire and explosion had not been confirmed at the time of reporting. The report says the mains supply tripped because of the fire.

Lessons learned

1. Standby transformers can fail in fire and explosion even when they are not carrying load, so their condition should be checked and maintained like active units.
2. A fault in one unit can trip the mains supply and cut power across a wide area, so protection and switching arrangements should be reviewed to limit the area affected.
3. Where damaged equipment can be isolated, restoring supply to most customers while it is assessed may shorten outages.

More lessons on maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, electrical protection and isolation, from every incident on the register.

Source

citizen.co.za