ElecComm Power Services Blog

The unforgettable March blackout of Boston’s Back Bay was the largest power outage in decades. ElecComm Power Services provided support and services to the area, solely organizing and executing every aspect of supplying temporary power to the district.

The task was large; diverse obstacles arose making the task of supplying temporary power to the neighborhood a challenge. As summer-like weather called for New England temperatures to be in the mid-80’s, EPS prepared for possible heat related failures as they continued the power relief effort. Just as predicted, a secondary transformer started heating up while taking on more and more of the district’s power demand off of EPS generators.

The transformer was found in a confined space discharging 11 million BTU worth of heat. The small room that housed the electrical device and the limited space of the city’s narrow street made standard cooling methods impossible to achieve. Instead, EPS devised a plan to cool the fins of the transformer by supplying 100 tons of A/C, creating 64,000 CFM of cold air across the fins to simulate winter-like conditions during the unseasonably warm weather.

Because of the prompt, safe, and efficient action of ElecComm Power Services, the transformer was cooled and remains in operation. EPS efficiently adapted to the difficult situation and properly managed obstacles caused by extreme heat, unpredictability of weather, unusual environment, and limited space. The cooling of the transformer will continue for the next few months.

To be updated on this story, or to read other stories on how EPS is supporting your community, please visit http://www.eleccommpowerservices.com.

Boston firefighters have been battling a smoky, electrical transformer fire in a utility building in Boston's Back Bay, that led to a huge power outage in the downtown area.

Emergency officials said Tuesday night there were no reports of injuries, but one person was taken to a hospital for minor respiratory problems. Fire officials said the smoke wasn't toxic, but people were advised to avoid it.

A local utility spokesman Mike Duran said a problem in one electrical substation spread to a second one. He said the power outage was affecting the Back Bay, Chinatown, the theater district, Kenmore Square and parts of the South End. He said once the damage is assessed the company will begin working to restore power with large generators.

Two hotels and nearby businesses were evacuated. Streets were closed in the area, and subway trains weren't stopping at stations there.

A local utility placed a call to ElecComm Power Services for emergency support.   ElecComm is currently loading in over 30 megawatts of emergency generated power into downtown Boston through miles of cable and many transformers. This is the largest emergency generator powered job in the city’s history . This event is so large a normally busy street that’s clogged with bumper-to-bumper morning traffic “Commonwealth  Avenue” is being used as an EPS equipment staging area. Stay tuned for updates.

A perfect example of the need for emergency power readiness has been this October winter storm we have experienced in the Northeast.  The combination of a bizarre snow storm combined with the weight of the leaves on the trees made for a “perfect storm” for power loss. Broken trees and limbs downed power lines all over Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island.

Connecticut has almost 800,000 people without power and Governor Malloy says it’s the biggest power outage the state has ever had. Neighboring Massachusetts has 621,000 people without power and both states are expecting colder than usual temperatures for this time of year.

Schools, hospitals, shelters, assisted living facilities all need emergency power support, especially during this time of year when it gets so cold.

Shelters across Connecticut and Massachusetts are open around the clock and are offering a warm place to sleep and hot meals . Most of CT and MA look like the aftermath of a major bombing with the number of trees down. Roads are obstructed and the down power lines are dangerous.

This is an unprecedented storm for October and it’s broken records for October snowfall in many places in the North East.

Contact ElecComm Power Services to get your emergency power plans into place before the next big storm.

Generators for rental power applications are now available in sizes from 20kW to 2MW. These generators have many benefits that include:

• Easy to operate. Allowing quick voltage changes for maximum flexibility and minimal setup.
• Engines, generators and monitoring control systems are all preintegrated.
• Built and designed for relocation and regular constant use.
• Reliable operation in all climates, up to 105F.
• Environmentally conscious.