Northern suburbs outage

26 Jul 2010

On Sunday evening a voltage transformer in the 66,000 volt outdoor switchyard in the Darwin suburb of Casuarina failed, resulting in a fire which was quickly brought under control by Fire Services.

Protection equipment at the site immediately operated and shut down power to about 1500 customers in parts of the Northern suburbs.
 
Fire Services confirmed the site was safe to re-enter about 7.20pm. Power and Water crews immediately commenced work to restore power to customers and by 7.45pm most of the customers affected had power restored.  By 7.50pm power was restored to all customers.
 
Casuarina Zone Substation is part way through a major upgrade of equipment and the installation and commissioning of new switchboards has meant that power was restored to customers as soon as the site was cleared as safe to enter by the Fire Services.
 
Significant investment both in time and money is being made at the Casuarina Zone Substation site.  It is a priority project for the Corporation and work has been underway for two years while the site transitions from an old to new zone substation. 
 
Power and Water is conscious of the hazards that face its workers and is keen to determine why the equipment failed and will ensure that the equipment is analysed to determine the cause of the fault.
 
The Corporation is two years into a five year, $1.5 billion investment in building, upgrading and maintaining facilities.  This is the largest investment in essential services in the Territory’s history.

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