Transformer Fire Forces Martin's Creek Plant Offline

Talen Energy’s two-unit Martin’s Creek Power Plant in Mount Bethel Township, Penn., was forced offline as a result of a transformer fire Sept. 11, the company said.

The incident occurred Sunday evening at a transformer yard adjacent to the plant. The fire was extinguished by local firefighters after about three hours.

The plant was not affected, and no damage to the plant or injuries to plant staff occurred. However, Talen opted to power down the facility the following morning as a precaution, as the cause of the fire is being investigated.

Talen spokesperson Todd Martin told local media the plant would be offline for a few weeks.

The 1,700-MW gas-fired thermal plant is located about 70 miles north of Philadelphia. The plant’s two units came online in 1975 and 1977 and sell their power into the PJM market. Two coal-fired units at the site were shut down in 2007.

—Thomas W. Overton, JD is a POWER associate editor (@thomas_overton, @POWERmagazine).