Transformer post burned due to theft of transformer oil

The incident left over 120 houses without electricity in the village of Vishovgrad, Pavlikeni municipality

A transformer post caught fire and burned as a result of theft of transformer oil in the village of Visovgrad, Pavlikeni municipality. The incident occurred early in the morning on Friday, June 6, 2014.

At 4:00am, electricity at one of the terminals at Pavlikeni substation goes out. The ENERGO-PRO emergency team sent found that one of the substations in the village of Visovgrad was on fire and all the equipment burned down. Employees of the company report to tel. 112, after which teams of the Regional Department “Police” and the Regional Service “Fire Safety and Protection of the Population” - Pavlikeni arrive at the scene of the incident.

That morning, at 6:53 a.m., the electricity of customers who were powered from the disconnected terminal of the substation was restored. More than 120 houses in the village remain without electricity, which are powered by the burned transformer substation.

During the inspection of the facility, it was found that the cause of the incident was the theft of transformer oil. Next to the burned transformer post, the tubes into which the stolen oil was poured were found. All equipment of the transformer substation and transformer machine are completely destroyed. The walls of the building are severely cracked by the high temperature. To restore the facility, it is necessary to carry out a complete construction repair of the substation and install new equipment. This will cost the electricity distribution company more than 25,000 leva.

ENERGO-PRO Networks has made an organization to provide temporary power supply to customers from another substation in the village. At 15:20 on the same day, electricity was restored to all residents of the village of Vishovgrad. Part of the village will remain on temporary power supply until the transformer substation is fully restored.

“At a time of economic crisis and severe financial constraints, such vandalism is a severe blow to the state of the energy system,” said Stefan Abadzhiev, CEO of ENERGO-PRO. “People are the losers from theft and vandalism, because our company is forced to invest in unnecessary repairs the scarce resources it has at its disposal after the severe cuts in the financing of the distribution network. We are forced to replace destroyed equipment instead of installing new networks and substations where they are needed most. Instead of investing resources in the quality of electricity, we must eliminate the damage caused by thieves and vandals.”

The theft in Visovgrad caused damage to the residents of the village, who stood for hours without electricity, and are now on temporary power supply, which cannot guarantee the necessary security and quality. The electricity distribution company has yet to incur unforeseen expenses for the full restoration of the burned substation.