Three workers injured in fire at Egmore substation, Chennai

What happened

A fire broke out at the Egmore power substation in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, at about 9.30am on Wednesday 21 August 2019. Three employees of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (Tangedco) suffered burn injuries and were admitted to a private hospital, where they were reported to be out of danger. The fire occurred while staff were restoring supply after a power shutdown at the 110kV Vyasarpadi substation. Two fire tenders from Egmore attended and extinguished the blaze.

The 33kV Vyasarpadi feeder line was damaged completely, and power supply was affected in the Vyasarpadi area. A 16MVA power transformer was expected to be back in service by the evening to restore supply to the area.

Contributing factors

The Tangedco chairman said the fire broke out due to overload. The source does not explain the overload further. The fire occurred during the re-energising of supply after a shutdown at the 110kV Vyasarpadi substation.

Lessons learned

1. Re-energising equipment after a shutdown can overload connected circuits, so loads should be checked and restored in stages before full supply is returned.
2. Staff working near energised equipment during switching need protective measures, clear escape routes and rapid access to fire-fighting equipment.
3. Where a feeder or transformer is damaged, temporary supply arrangements should be planned early to limit the number of customers affected.

More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, design, standards and commissioning, from every incident on the register.

Source

The Times of India (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)