Fire in 220kV substation, Bengaluru’s power centres feel the heat

The major power centres of Bengaluru — Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha, Raj Bhavan, MS Building, as also Pete area and Gandhinagar in the heart of the city plunged into darkness on Monday afternoon, following a transformer blast and fire mishap at KPTCL’s 220kV substation.

The substation is located near Anand Rao Circle and was set up in 1920. The blast, according to officials, reported in the afternoon damaged the electrical installation at the power receiving station. It receives power from major hydel and thermal units.

This is for the first time that the station witnessed a fire mishap of such magnitude. Despite the steady increase in the load, over the years, the
station hardly witnessed upgradation.

A senior engineer said, “The existing transformers with a capacity of 20 MVA were commissioned during 1998. Balancing the mounting load due rapid growth in the vicinity, three additional transformers were installed. Two transformers have been heavily damaged and require replacement. Each of the transformers is worth more than Rs 2 crore and we are yet to assess what triggered the fire.”

The fire, according to KPTCL engineers, was noticed during the lunch hour when a thick smoke billowed from the transformer bay.

“In less than a few minutes, it was up in flames. The oil in the transformer intensified the fire. We had a tough time for about two hours in controlling the fire,” said a chief engineer.

Nearly 90% of commercial and residential localities in Central Bengaluru plunged into darkness.

The Fire and Emergency Services received a call around 1.20 pm and three fire tenders were deployed to contain the fire.

“Due to a fault in the insulation, the electrical wiring first caught fire, resulting in a thick cloud of smoke. Power supply to major installations including Vidhana Soudha, Raj Bhavan, Chickpet, City Market, Gandhi Nagar, RT Nagar, Chamarajpet, Kumara Park (East and West), Malleswaram and Seshadripuram was cut off. Our immediate priority is to restore the power supply,” said an executive engineer.

Power supply to KR Market and old pete area has been diverted to another substation at Victoria Hospital, while the power supply to High Grounds and Kumara Krupa area is being diverted to a station at Cantonment railway station, KPTCL engineers said.

The Energy department is witnessing back-to-back fire incidents, raising questions over the maintenance and upkeep of electrical installations across the state.