Veld fire linked to explosion at Eskom Paulshof substation, Johannesburg

What happened

A veld fire near the Paulshof substation in northern Johannesburg, South Africa, led to an explosion at the site on Friday, according to Eskom. Eskom said the fire spread through the perimeter fence and exposed the substation's voltage transformers to extreme heat, causing them to explode. The substation tripped in line with its safety requirements and design protocols, which protected the remaining equipment but interrupted supply. Areas affected included parts of Bryanston, Rivonia, Lonehill, Morningside, Magaliessig, Fourways, Sunninghill and Woodmead. Repairs to the damaged transformers were under way, and Eskom had given no estimated time for restoration.

Contributing factors

Eskom's preliminary investigation attributes the outage to a veld fire near the substation that breached the perimeter fence. The provisional findings state that heat from the fire caused the voltage transformers to explode.

Lessons learned

1. Vegetation management and firebreaks around substation perimeters reduce the risk of veld fires reaching high-voltage equipment.
2. A perimeter fence does not stop fire, so operators should assess the heat exposure of transformers and other equipment close to the boundary.
3. Protection systems that trip a substation to protect equipment can still cause wide outages, so operators should plan network reconfiguration and public communication for such events.

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

Source

jacarandafm.com