"A new third-party report by the firm Exponent found that the December fire at Pacific Gas & Electric's Mission Street substation was likely caused by a combination of equipment damage, moisture buildup, and the layout of the facility, as the Chronicle reports. The firm does not detail what PG&E could've done to prevent the fire, as the circumstances are still being investigated."
"The more than 70-page report says that PG&E crews replaced a damaged circuit breaker after a failed test during the month before the outage, but they left behind an insulating panel that showed burned spots and warping. According to KGO, the report also found the substation was prone to elevated humidity and moisture, and that water-saturated ventilation filters in the switchgear room were degraded and no longer properly filtering outside air."
"Exponent noted that the weather conditions leading up to the fire a rapid warmup following an extended cool period may have led to condensation buildup inside the facility. PG&E told the Chronicle it saw no warning signs of an imminent fire risk before the outage. The utility said it has added humidity controls and weatherproofing at all 16 indoor substations following the December fire."
"A fire at PG&E's substation in San Francisco's South of Market District led to a third of the city losing power on the busiest weekend of the holiday season. Power was still out for 20,000 customers the following day, and 11,600 customers were still without power two days later, including much of Civic Center. The Market Street Muni stations were also out of service."
A third-party report found the December fire at a PG&E Mission Street substation was likely driven by equipment damage, moisture buildup, and the facility’s layout. Crews had replaced a damaged circuit breaker after a failed test in the month before the outage, but an insulating panel left behind showed burned spots and warping. The substation was found to be prone to elevated humidity and moisture, and water-saturated ventilation filters in the switchgear room were degraded and no longer filtered outside air properly. Weather conditions before the fire included a rapid warmup after an extended cool period, which may have caused condensation buildup inside the facility. PG&E reported adding humidity controls and weatherproofing at all indoor substations and accelerating maintenance after the outage.
Read at sfist.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]