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Grid infrastructureUnited StatesEIR-2767

Underground explosion and substation trips leave around 4,000 without power in Salt Lake City

Nov 2025Published 5 Nov 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantElectricalProvisionalNext update 6 Nov
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Rocky Mountain Power

What happened

On a Saturday in mid-November 2025, according to KSL News citing Rocky Mountain Power, an underground explosion occurred near 300 South and Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. The utility said the blast affected several businesses, leaving 17 without power. A business owner reported flames rising 10 to 15 feet after the blast. The cause of the underground explosion was not reported. On the same day, a squirrel entering a transformer caused a trip, and a driver striking a pole caused a power trip at a substation at 5th West and 200 South.

The source states that the three incidents together left about 4,000 people without power; it does not give a separate customer figure for the explosion alone.

Contributing factors

The source reports animal contact with a transformer as the cause of one trip and a vehicle striking a pole as the cause of a substation trip. The cause of the underground explosion was not reported.

Lessons learned

  1. Utilities should keep underground equipment under inspection so that faults are found before they cause explosions.
  2. Animal protection at transformers reduces trips caused by squirrels and other wildlife.
  3. Barriers and careful siting of poles and substation equipment can reduce the risk of vehicle strikes.

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

Source

ksl.com

Other entries that name Salt

Published 2026-11-05. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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