American Transmission Company (ATC) identified the cause of a July fire and power outage in a downtown Madison substation.
ATC said a component inside the Blount Street substation’s transformer failed, “generating combustible gases and resulting in a fire,” said Jim Vespalec, ATC director of asset planning and engineering.
The company, with the help of an expert from the Electric Power Research Institute, reached its conclusion after a visual inspection and taking apart the transformer.
The component was designed to regulate voltage and had been inspected, according to the company, three times in the week leading up to the explosion. The last inspection was conducted two days before the July 19 fire.
To read more go to WKOW: https://wkow.com/news/top-stories/2019/10/02/mechanical-failure-to-blame-for-madison-substation-fire-company-says/