Reported explosion at Federación substation leaves parts of Ciudad Ojeda without power
Nov 2026Published 3 Nov 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
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What happened
Local media report that an explosion and fire occurred at the Federación substation in Libertad parish, Lagunillas municipality, Zulia state, Venezuela, which reportedly left several sectors of Ciudad Ojeda without electricity. Videos shared on social media reportedly show an explosion in the electrical installations, followed by an interruption of supply. The source says the explosion and fire began in the low-voltage side breaker of transformer TX-3, rated 115/11.9 kV. The article gives two dates, Monday 2 November 2026 and Sunday 6 September 2026, and does not resolve which is correct. The extent of the outage, the restoration time and any injuries are not reported in the source.
Contributing factors
Local authorities are reported to have said that an opossum accidentally entered the electrical equipment and caused the explosion. This has not been confirmed by an official statement in the source. The source does not describe protective measures at the substation or any earlier faults at the same location beyond a reference to a new failure.
Lessons learned
- Fit and maintain animal-proof barriers, insulation covers and guards on outdoor switchgear and transformer terminations, particularly at sites in areas with wildlife.
- Review recurring faults at the same substation to identify common causes such as animal ingress, moisture or poor sealing.
- Keep fault logs with consistent date and time records so that incidents can be verified quickly and reported accurately.
More lessons on spacing, layout and fire spread, from every incident on the register.
Source
Published 2026-11-03. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
