Great link... I like the note that the firefighters were called back when a transformer began to smoke again. [Linked Image]

It seems that the U.S. power grid is one of the most neglected in terms of keeping up with ever-expanding demand. My conversations with local POCO workers confirm that equipment that was once upsized when overloaded is now just left to cook until it fails. For the "pole pigs" in most residential areas, that may not be so critical. But it's happening with substation equipment all too often. [Linked Image]

It's also interesting to me that this happened at 5:20 am...I would think that the load would be light at that hour?

Oh, wait, on second thought, it was a workday, people getting up and turning on the coffee pots and cooking, etc. Maybe not so unusual then.

Stupid should be painful.