An Emergency Response to a Sinking Transformer

Bowers Electricals were brought in to supply a replacement transformer to help get a factory up and running, after their existing unit had sunk into an old Victorian drain.

The end user noticed their transformer seemed to be leaning a little and contacted our customer, Midlands Power Networks, via their 24hr Emergency Response team. Midlands Power immediately sent in a team to isolate the transformer as it was still live!

The Midlands Power team utilised a cherry picker to safely suspend themselves over the transformer to enable disconnection. The unit was carefully extracted from the sinkhole via a crane. A temporary generator was then supplied to keep the customer operational.

Bowers Electricals were contacted to supply a new, replacement transformer. This need to be on a fast turnaround to get the factory running on full capacity with minimal disruption.

We provided a standard Tier 1, 1250kVA, 11000/415v Aluminium, ONAN, Transformer complete with a refurbished 630amp switch RMU all available directly from stock.

The Bowers Electricals Project Engineer that worked on this project said, “We turned this project around in a couple of days after an urgent request by Midlands Power. The new transformer was needed quickly to get the customer’s business back online with minimum downtime.” He then added “I have never dealt with a transformer sinking before, especially with it still being live too – very surprising. With electricity still running through it, it could have serious consequences for the customer. They were very lucky; it could have been much worse.”

“All the oil inside would have been gathered to one side, this would have exposed the HV connections. These are designed to be oil insulated and would make the transformer hot which could cause damage or fire. Not to mention the environmental damage that could be caused if thousands of litres of oil spilt into the drains.”

An Emergency Response to a Sinking Transformer

Bowers Electricals were brought in to supply a replacement transformer to help get a factory up and running, after their existing unit had sunk into an old Victorian drain.

The Midlands Power team utilised a cherry picker to safely suspend themselves over the transformer to enable disconnection. The unit was carefully extracted from the sinkhole via a crane. A temporary generator was then supplied to keep the customer operational.

Bowers Electricals were contacted to supply a new, replacement transformer. This need to be on a fast turnaround to get the factory running on full capacity with minimal disruption.

Need a fast turnaround? Contact the team

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An Emergency Response to a Sinking Transformer

Bowers Electricals were brought in to supply a replacement transformer to help get a factory up and running, after their existing unit had sunk into an old Victorian drain.

The Midlands Power team utilised a cherry picker to safely suspend themselves over the transformer to enable disconnection. The unit was carefully extracted from the sinkhole via a crane. A temporary generator was then supplied to keep the customer operational.

Bowers Electricals were contacted to supply a new, replacement transformer. This need to be on a fast turnaround to get the factory running on full capacity with minimal disruption.

Need a fast turnaround? Contact the team

Related News and Insights

5 Reasons you should upgrade your transformer

CRGO – Cold Rolled Grain Oriented Steel

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