water and electric

[oompah]

We all know the two don`t mix so what happens to the electric supply to the flooded houses up north,does the local supplier pull a fuse in a sub station if not where?and when they are ready to connect again who decides,insurance company with labc and the supplier?

 

[Steve]

Normally protective devices in properties trip and prevent damage and there is no need for the DNO to pull their fuses. Most of the DNO's external equipment (cables, JBs) is flood proof and can work underwater, with the exception of substations, meters and cutouts.

If cutouts started blowing due to water and the area was uninhabitable anyway then I guess they'd pull their fuses or isolators at the substation or they'd just let the substation secondary fuses blow. IIRC, 240 volts doesn't conduct very well in water unless there are impurities in the water.

 

[tim west]

I think it would be prudent for the companies to isolate their supplies to the flooded areas anyway.

 

[plugwash]

floodwater is quite likely to have a lot of contaminants in so there will be current flow through the water, i'd be surprised if its enough to blow fuses though.

I could imagine them isolting for safety reasons though if cutouts started getting flooded and of course HV gear is far more vulnerable to water.

 

[Lectrician]

On the footage you still street lights and traffic lights working in many shots. Not all of them.

I would think they would leave it on - this way if the fuses blow, they know there is a problem - It would be a difficult dicission to put the fuses back in when they have been out for a week - who knows what has happened "down line".