For Immediate Release: December 17, 2021

Situation update on fire at station A

Update - 12/17 7:30 a.m.

Power restored to all downtown customers following fire

At 7:25 this morning, Friday, December 17, SMUD technical experts and crews successfully restored power to all impacted customers following a severe fire that damaged equipment at downtown Substation A.

Working around the clock since Tuesday, crews developed and implemented an innovative solution for Station A, which serves most of downtown Sacramento. While two of the networks were brought online Wednesday morning, the remaining network (Network 2) was heavily damaged and required additional repairs to restore power to 550 customers.

Crews worked through the night Thursday and early Friday morning to restore power to the remaining customers.

The final steps to restore all customers required a planned power outage for customers on Network 3, impacting 66 residential customers and 112 commercial customers. SMUD directly contacted customers to inform them that the planned outage would begin at 1 a.m.

The Station A fire impacted the outdoor, external equipment and infrastructure only, and not the historic building immediately adjacent to the infrastructure. The historic building is mostly empty and holds only control circuits and panels. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

SMUD appreciates our customers’ patience as we made repairs and restored power and sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience. SMUD also thanks all of our partners in addressing this emergency and for coming together to address customer needs during the outage. We worked collaboratively since Tuesday to provide food, hotel, transportation, relocation services, blankets, phone chargers, water, generators and translation services.

Now that power is restored, SMUD will assist customers in need as they return to their homes.

Further updates will be provided as needed.

Photos from the field

Update - 12/17 5 a.m.

Power to be restored to downtown customers estimated at 7 a.m.

SMUD crews have worked all night to restore power to downtown Station A customers. Due to the size and complexity of the job, power is now estimated to be restored at 7 am. Further updates will be provided this morning.

SMUD workers restoring power to Station A

Update - 12/16 9 p.m.

We're still on track to restore power by 6 a.m. Friday. Crews are preparing to begin the power restoration process at 1 a.m. The planned outage will begin at 1 a.m. and could last until 6 a.m. at the latest. When complete, the power will be restored permanently to all customers served by Station A.

We appreciate our customers’ patience as we make repairs and restore power and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Update - 12/16 7 p.m.

We're continuing to make good progress and are on track to restore power by 6 a.m. Friday. We've been making individual calls to impacted customers and asking those who are using generators to turn them off by midnight to avoid complications in the power restoration process.

Update - 12/16 5 p.m.

Power to be restored by morning, planned outage final step

SMUD’s downtown substation, Station A, experienced a fire on Tuesday, December 14, causing a power outage for about 1,300 customers. Most of downtown Sacramento is served by three networks from Station A.

Crews worked through the night on Tuesday to test the two de-energized networks, and both were re-energized by 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday. As a result, the power was restored to 750 customers.

The final step involves tying in one network to the other, which does require a planned power outage for those on network three, which includes 66 residential customers and 112 commercial customers. The planned outage will begin at 1 a.m. and could last until 6 a.m. at the latest. When complete, the power will be restored permanently to all customers served by Station A. SMUD is making individual calls to those impacted customers and asks those who are using generators, to turn them off by midnight to avoid complications in the power restoration process.

SMUD is continuing to work with customers to alleviate the impacts from the fire-related outage at Station A. They have been working collaboratively since Tuesday to provide food, hotel, transportation, relocation services, blankets, phone chargers, water, generators and translation services. SMUD remains committed to serving its customers through this emergency and grateful to the community partners for its help in doing so.

The Station A fire impacted the outdoor, external equipment and infrastructure only and not the historic building immediately adjacent to the infrastructure. The historic building is mostly empty and holds only control circuits and panels. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

SMUD appreciates our customers’ patience as we make repairs and restore power and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Further updates will be provided as necessary.

Update - 12/16 4 p.m.

Heroic efforts to support Sacramentans and restore power after fire destroys downtown power equipment

SMUD technical experts and crews worked around the clock for 48 hours to develop a permanent fix to restore all power safely after Tuesday’s fire severely damaged equipment Station A. Most of downtown Sacramento is served by three networks from Station A. One of the networks (Network 2) suffered significant damage. The other two (Networks 1 and 3) were returned to service by 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The customers on Network 2 will have their power restored by 6 a.m. Friday.

The damaged equipment on Network 2 could not be fixed and replacing it would leave customers with an extended power outage. By partnering with local IBEW 1245, SMUD was able to assign additional SMUD staff, and by working 24/7 since the fire occurred, SMUD staff designed and implemented a solution in 48 hours that would have otherwise taken weeks.

Customers currently on Network 2 will be moved to Network 3. There is enough capacity on Network 3 to also serve customers from Network 2 safely and reliably. Connecting the two networks involves extensive cable work (splicing), including connecting lead cable to poly cable and connecting the poly cable to the substation switchgear at 18 points.

SMUD crews are making great progress since beginning the cable work outdoors last night in the wind and rain. The cable splicing is now complete, and crews are preparing to transfer power between the two networks. Anytime SMUD re-energizes electrical equipment, safety is our first priority.

Before we can safely transfer the power, crews must ensure power is isolated at 55 separate downtown locations. This is equivalent to making sure the main breaker in your home electrical panel is off before doing any electrical work.

Crews will begin transferring power at 1 a.m. Friday morning and the transfer will be complete by 6 a.m. Friday. The power will be off to Networks 2 and 3 during the transfer, which will last a maximum of 5 hours. SMUD is personally calling all impacted customers ahead of this outage. For the safety of our customers and their neighbors, we’re telling impacted customers NOT to use a generator for power during this outage.

SMUD sincerely appreciates the outpouring of support and help for those impacted by the outages following the fire. Downtown and beyond, people and organizations have gone to great lengths to support those who need it most.

SMUD, the City of Sacramento and other community partners continue to work to assist and help impacted customers through this difficult time.

SMUD is actively partnered with several property managers of low income and senior citizen properties to facilitate hotel stays, food, and transportation as needed.

SMUD staff have been on site to personally help get seniors into hotels and served as translators in multiple languages to provide customer support. Other examples include:

Providing meals to our most vulnerable customers in partnership with Meals on Wheels, local restaurants and hotels.
Brining in food trucks to the impacted area to provide food to those without power.
Facilitating the rental and safe installation of back-up generators for businesses with critical power needs.
Coordinating with Paratransit to provide transportation, wheelchairs, oxygen and other medical equipment as necessary.
Providing customized assistance for individual customers.
Door-to-door health and safety checks by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and SMUD.
Emergency and warming shelters have been opened by the City of Sacramento.
Working with commercial customers to obtain back-up.
Individual calls to customers to offer additional, customized assistance.

SMUD appreciates our customers’ patience as we make repairs and restore power and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Photos from the field

The photos below show SMUD workers working to splice cables at Station A substation.

Update - 12/16 2:30 p.m.

SMUD addresses inspection and maintenance

One of the networks suffered significant damage, and the other two were immediately de-energized to ensure public safety as they were examined and tested for fitness. Crews have worked 24/7 to restore power to about 750 residents and are continuing to make repairs to restore power to the remaining 550 customers.

Crews have made significant progress and will continue working through the day and night on the final steps. Due to the magnitude of the damage and the amount of equipment involved, as well as the tight quarters and confined workspace, we expect to return all customers to permanent power by Friday morning.

As with all of our distribution substations, SMUD performed inspections on the equipment inside Station A at least every two months, and no less than ten times each year. These visual inspections include identification of abnormalities, and any abnormal conditions identified are prioritized for corrective action.

SMUD considers the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) general orders as the standard practice for our industry, and we voluntarily follow the same general order rules as the investor-owned utilities for our substation visual inspection program.

Ongoing preventative maintenance activities are also regularly performed, including testing and inspection activities at intervals based on equipment condition, operating experience and industry practices. Key equipment inside Station A is inspected and tested at various intervals with some activities happening every three months and others annually or every 3, 5 or 10 years based on the specific asset.

Station A was never found to be a safety hazard. SMUD sought approval for a new substation, Station G located across the street, to safely accommodate the needs of a new, larger substation being built to accommodate new growth and grid needs. While the cause of the fire is still unknown, SMUD acted quickly to de-energize the substation once the fire was discovered out of an abundance of caution and to ensure safety.

Permit documents indicate that it was nearing the “end of its useful life,” which is not an indication of the health of the system. Useful life is fluid and can vary greatly dependent upon the care and maintenance of the site. It does not mean that the system was unsafe. SMUD’s inspection and maintenance program had shown no question about its health.

Station A is planned to be transferred to a new Substation G beginning in October 2022, with a completion date of May 2023.

Since Tuesday, SMUD staff have been assisting commercial and residential customers who are still impacted by the fire-related outage in many ways, from booking and paying for hotel rooms to arranging transportation for our vulnerable customers and their pets, to assisting with generators.

Further updates will be provided as necessary.

SMUD appreciates our customers’ patience as we make repairs and restore power and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Update - 12/16 12:30 p.m.

We're pleased to report our crews are making good progress. We're on track to have power restored to all Downtown customers on Friday morning.

Update - 12/16 8 a.m.

Crews making progress; Community supporting those in need

One of the networks suffered significant damage, and the other two were immediately de-energized to ensure public safety as they were examined and tested for fitness. Crews worked through the night to test the two de-energized networks, and at 6:35 a.m. one of the networks was re-energized. The second network was re-energized around 9:00 a.m. As a result, the power has been restored to 750 customers.

The third network suffered far more extensive damage and crews have been working 24/7 on repairs to restore power to the remaining 550 customers. Crews have made significant progress and will continue working through the day and night on the final steps. Due to the magnitude of the damage and the amount of equipment involved, as well as the tight quarters and confined workspace, we expect to return all customers to power by Friday morning.

SMUD staff have been assisting commercial and residential customers who are still impacted by the fire-related outage in many ways, from booking and paying for hotel rooms to arranging transportation for our vulnerable customers and their pets.

SMUD sincerely appreciates the outpouring of support from our community partners that are working with us to support customers and those providing assistance through their existing programs.

SMUD, the City of Sacramento and other community partners continue to work to assist and help impacted customers through this difficult time.

SMUD is actively partnering with several property managers of low income and senior citizen properties to facilitate hotel stays, food, and transportation as needed. SMUD is also closely coordinating with the City of Sacramento to provide warming centers and Paratransit to provide wheelchairs, oxygen, and other medical equipment as necessary. Examples include:

Providing meals to our most vulnerable customers in partnership with Meals on Wheels, local restaurants and hotels.
Facilitating the rental and safe installation of back-up generators for businesses with critical power needs.
Coordinating with Paratransit to provide transportation, wheelchairs, oxygen and other medical equipment as necessary.
Providing customized assistance for individual customers.
Door-to-door health and safety checks by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and SMUD.
Emergency and warming shelters have been opened by the City of Sacramento.
Back-up generation is being offered when requested to commercial customers by SMUD.
Individual calls to customers to offer additional, customized assistance.

Further updates will be provided as necessary.

SMUD appreciate our customers’ patience as we make repairs and restore power and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Update - 12/15/21 5 p.m.

Community supporting those in need

The third network suffered far more extensive damage and crews are working 24/7 on repairs. Due to the magnitude of the damage and the amount of equipment involved as well as the tight quarters and confined workspace, we expect to return all customers to power by Friday morning.

SMUD sincerely appreciates the outpouring of support from our community partners that are working with us to support customers and those providing assistance through their existing programs.

SMUD, the City of Sacramento and other community partners continue to work to assist and help impacted customers through this difficult time. Examples include:

Providing meals to our most vulnerable customers in partnership with Meals on Wheels, local restaurants and hotels.
Facilitating the rental and safe installation of back-up generators for businesses with critical power needs.
Coordinating with Paratransit to provide transportation, wheelchairs, oxygen and other medical equipment as necessary.
Providing customized assistance for individual customers.
Door-to-door health and safety checks by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and SMUD.
Emergency and warming shelters have been opened by the City of Sacramento.
Back-up generation is being offered when requested to commercial customers by SMUD.
Individual calls to customers to offer additional, customized assistance.

Further updates will be provided as necessary.

SMUD appreciate our customers’ patience as we make repairs and restore power and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Update - 12/15/21 10 a.m.

SMUD’s downtown substation, Station A, experienced a fire on Tuesday, December 14. Most of downtown Sacramento is served by three networks from Station A.

The third network suffered far more extensive damage and crews are working 24/7 on repairs.

SMUD continues to work proactively with residential customers and are providing hotel rooms and food to those impacted by the fire. Commercial customers are being contacted and arrangements made on a case-by-case basis to provide support. SMUD continues to coordinate with City of Sacramento, Regional Transit and other community partners for outreach and support.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. Further updates will be provided as necessary.

SMUD appreciate our customers’ patience as we make repairs and restore power and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Update - 12/15/21 8:45 a.m.

SMUD’s downtown substation, Station A, experienced a fire on Tuesday, December 14. Most of downtown Sacramento is served by three networks from Station A.

One of the networks suffered significant damage, and the other two were immediately de-energized to ensure public safety as they were examined and tested for fitness. Crews worked through the night to test the two de-energized networks, and at 6:35 this morning one of the two networks was re-energized.

As a result, the power has been restored to more than 500 customers. The second network is expected to be re-energized later this morning.

The third network suffered far more extensive damage and is still being assessed as crews work 24/7 to plan and make the repairs.

SMUD is working proactively with residential customers and providing hotel rooms and food to those impacted by the fire. Commercial customers are being contacted and arrangements made on a case-by-case basis to provide support. SMUD continues to coordinate with City of Sacramento, Regional Transit and other community partners for outreach and support.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. Further updates will be provided as necessary.

SMUD appreciate our customers’ patience as we make repairs and restore power and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Update - 12/14/21 10 p.m.

SMUD’s downtown substation, Station A, experienced a fire earlier today. Most of downtown Sacramento is served by three networks from Station A.

One of the networks suffered significant damage, and the other two were de-energized to ensure public safety and are currently being examined for safety and fitness. Crews are working through the night to test the two de-energized networks and are planning to restore power to about 700 customers by morning.

The other network suffered more extensive damage and is still being assessed for necessary repairs as crews work through the night.

SMUD is working proactively with residential customers and providing hotel and food vouchers to those impacted by the fire. Commercial customers are being contacted and arrangements made on a case-by-case basis to provide support. SMUD is also coordinating with City of Sacramento, Regional Transit and other community partners for outreach and support.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. Further updates will be provided as necessary.

SMUD appreciate our customers’ patience as we make repairs and restore power and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Original news release

At approximately 11:47 a.m. SMUD’s substation A, located at 6th and H Streets, suffered significant damage from an on-site fire. SMUD immediately deenergized the substation resulting in power losses for about 1,300 customers in the downtown area.

SMUD has confirmed that all employees have been accounted for and there are no injuries reported. The root cause is being investigated and unknown at this point.

Based upon significant damage, power will not be restored today and SMUD is recommending back-up generators for those who have them.

SMUD is actively working to assess the damage and is calling all impacted customers. SMUD will provide updates as appropriate.