Didcot B station fire probably caused by electrical fault 21 October 2014

Last Sunday's (19 October 2014) fire at the Didcot B gas-fired power station was probably caused by a cooling fan electrical fault.

That's the latest from Nathan Travis, deputy chief fire officer at Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue (the BBC reports).

Didcot B is a 1.4GW gas fired power station adjacent to the Didcot A coal-fired power station, which closed in 2012.

The fire started in a cooling tower in one of the two main station cooling modules and rapidly spread to three others, fanned by strong winds.

The badly damaged cooling module supplies cooling water to one of Didcot B's two generating units, so the affected unit remains safely shut down, with the station running at half capacity for the foreseeable future.

RWE says power station staff are trained to deal with emergencies and its co-ordination plans were successfully put in place with local emergency services.

The fire was brought under control overnight onSunday, with some 25 fire engines and 100 fire-fighters tackling the blaze.

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
RWE npower

This material is protected by MA Business copyright
See Terms and Conditions.
One-off usage is permitted but bulk copying is not.
For multiple copies contact the sales team.