Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1404726.015 - Entergy Texas, Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Houston North Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:35 p.m. on May 28, 2019, Employee #1 and Employee #2 and their coworkers were dispatched to investigate a power outage in a small residential area. During the troubleshooting, a transformer was found in the backyard of a residential home that crew leaders felt was the root cause of the outage and it had to be isolated and replaced. To isolate the transformer, any other transformers that were directly connected to it on the circuit had to be isolated (de-energized) before the removal process began. The isolation process is conducted by pulling the elbow and docking it inside the transformer. The crew isolated the first transformer without issue. The crew went to the next transformer where they found that all the grounds had been burned. The crew could not perform any work on it until the grounds were fixed. Three employees stayed with this transformer and Employee #1 proceeded to the next transformer. After Employee #1 conducted a visual inspection, he found that the area where he was to isolate the elbow was small and he needed a 4-foot shotgun stick. Employee #2 brought him the stick. As Employee #1 removed the elbow, it exploded (arc flashed) blowing employee #2 back against the fence directly behind him and knocking him unconscious. Both employees were taken to the hospital with burns; however, Employee #2 was admitted due to third degree burns while Employee #1 suffered second degree burns and was treated and released.

Keywords: Burn, Electric Arc, Electrical Work, Transformer