“The pothead is porcelain and is designed to be water and airtight, but due to all the freezing and thawing, it cracked,” she said Wednesday morning. “The system shut down the substation as it is designed to do with this type of problem. Our substations are designed so that when a fault occurs, the substation de-energizes and power is shut down. We immediately dispatched crews (Tuesday) night to make the necessary repairs. The substation is back in service.”
Distribution substations such as the one in Kettering are part of a system that reduces or “steps down” the voltage of electricity conveyed on transmission lines into the low voltage commonly needed for household and business use.
Electricity is transmitted at 345,000 volts from power plants in order to travel long distances via transmission lines, then is repeatedly stepped down by transformers at transmission and distribution substations and on power poles until it is reduced to about 220 volts for consumer use.
Sprigg said the transformers at the substation were not damaged.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2264 or tbeyerlein@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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