Substation fire in Sofia cuts power to ten neighbourhoods

What happened

In the early morning of 11 November 2024, a fire broke out at the Poduyane substation in Sofia, Bulgaria. The fire caused a large power outage across part of the city, affecting traffic lights and disrupting the electricity supply to around 10 neighbourhoods, including Poduyane, Suhata Reka, Hadji Dimitar, Levski, Orlandovtsi, Serdika, Slatina, Reduta, Sredets and Oborishte. According to the report, ERM Zapad disconnected 220 substations from the network in response to the incident. Officials said power was expected to be restored by 8:30 a.m., while teams worked to repair the affected areas and return the neighbourhoods to normal operation.

Lessons learned

1. A fire at a single substation can cut supply across many neighbourhoods, so operators should map which feeders and loads depend on each site and plan network reconfiguration in advance.
2. Traffic signals and other urban services need backup power or a fallback plan so that an outage does not create a road safety hazard.
3. Publishing an estimated restoration time and keeping the public updated during an outage helps manage expectations and reduces confusion.

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

Source

novinite.com