[Drago]

Transformer(s) went “poof”:

https://www.cbs46.com/news/explosion-reported-at-cobb-county-power-plant/article_a964cf0e-f0c3-11ea-9b03-7782d02d6332.html

[Drago]

Transformers in a separate switchyard near the power plant. It is a nat gas power plant:

https://www.georgiapower.com/company/energy-industry/generating-plants/mcdonough-atkinson.html

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Had that happen at the University of Missouri power plant when I was there, around 1970. Wow, lit up the whole district in the bluish light, fizzing and crackling for what seemed like hours. Pretty scary stuff.

[Hootowl99]

Of all the components of a power plant system that could catastrophically go down, the transformer and switch gear complex would probably be the lowest long term impact. This is because they can be repaired without total loss of the much more expensive generating units.

Just guessing, this was probably about a 1500MW generating plant. The electrical grid is designed such that a capacity of this size can trip offline with little to no impact on consumers. This is by temporarily increasing the output by online generating and bringing idling capacity back up to capacity. At least it works like this unless you’re in California.

I had a ringside seat to watching a natural gas power plant burn once. An electrical short in the output wiring caught insulation on fire then the fire spread through the cable trays. From start to fully blazing the whole unit was probably 15 minutes.

I was in a shelter place location that was a quarter mile away and had a clear view of the fire and the rest of the facility. My location was isolated from the main facility and our 2 evacuation routes were either close to the fire or into clouds of chemical release. Chemical units were tripping into emergency shutdown all over the place because of a loss of steam, not electricity.

The electrical load was virtually instantly absorbed by the Texas grid. Steam could not be replaced as quickly. A 1940s era power plant at the facility was mothballed 10 years previously when it was replaced by a cogeneration power plant. This legacy unit was dusted off and restarted. Within about 12 hours it was producing steam and zero electricity in order to supply steam into the facility’s utility lines. As the steam availability increased, chemical operating units sequentially restarted over 48 hours.

[The_Media_never_lie]

Hot, transformer oil is an explosion waiting to happen.

Transformers are normally operated hot because of magnetic heating, and there are protective devices connected to circuit breakers to take them out of service should they dangerously overheat. It the protective devices fail to operate during abnormal conditions, you get an explosion. Utility workers do not want to be nearby when the hot, fiery transformer goes flying. Far worse than SHTF, IMHO.