A special committee has been constituted to investigate and report on the fire that consumed part of the 200kV underground cable from the Brahmapuram substation of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and passing through a concealed trench on the Bharat Petroleum Limited-Kochi Refinery (BPCL-KR) campus at Ambalamugal.
The committee has been asked to submit the report within three days. The committee led by K. Manoj, Deputy Collector (Disaster Management), comprises the BPCL-KR security officer, Electrical Inspector, and KSEB officials.
The decision was taken at a meeting called by District Collector N.S.K. Umesh in the wake of Tuesday’s incident, which left several persons at Ayyankuzhi, the immediate neighbourhood of the BPCL-KR campus, dizzy and nauseated, while some were hospitalised. All the 23 families have since been evacuated and provided temporary accommodation at Chottanikkara.
A separate committee was formed to study and submit a report on whether the neighbourhood of the company was fit for habitation. The committee comprising the Pollution Control Board engineer, grama panchayat health inspector, village officer, and company representatives has been asked to submit its report within two days after visiting the households.
The Deputy Collector (Disaster Management), hazard analyst, and the company’s disaster management plan coordinator have been asked to review the company’s disaster management action plan and to recommend changes, if any, within a week.
The Collector said a high-level meeting would be convened at the earliest to look into the residents’ demand that their land be acquired.
Electric arc
An electric arc, which was created on the tripping of the feeders, getting converted into a full-fledged fire, probably triggered the fire. The electric arc is the high-temperature luminous discharge created from ruptures in the wire. Rarely does an electric arc gets converted into fire. The probability of the presence of some kind of combustible gas in the concealed underground chamber converting the arc into fire is one of the causes being looked into.
The restoration of the cable may take time as the cable, cable joints, and the correction kit need to be imported. All three feeders were affected by the accidents, and the incident affected the stability of the KSEB’s system.
BPCL-KR statement
In a statement issued here, BPCL-KR said a power fluctuation led to the tripping of the 220kV feeders, resulting in a fire and smoke in the cable trench. Upon detection, the emergency response team, in coordination with the KSEB, swiftly responded to the incident. The situation was brought under control using foam and water. As a precautionary measure, sand was filled in the cable trench. Employees in the affected areas were evacuated, and safety masks were worn as a precaution. The local administration was informed, and the neighbourhood was assured that there was no cause for panic, the statement said.
Published – July 10, 2025 12:06 am IST
