Explosion Reported at Oak Grove Power Plant

An explosion reported on October 13 at Luminant’s coal-fired Oak Grove Power Plant located near Franklin, Texas, was from a blown transformer, the company said.

Robertson County dispatchers received a call from the power plant at 6:08 p.m., reporting that there had been an explosion at the plant “as a result of an electrical issue.” At about 6:40 p.m., the Robertson County Sheriff’s office released a special alert saying that emergency crews were working to contain a “turbine fire.” However, by 6:50, emergency crews were being released from the scene, the sheriff’s office said.

It underscored that no injuries had been reported and all plant staff was accounted for.

On October 14, Luminant spokesperson Meranda Cohn told POWER that the incident occurred when a transformer blew at the plant. As a precaution, the team on site called emergency personnel, prompting both Bremond and Robertson County emergency services to respond.

“There was no fire (the earlier report of a fire was incorrect) and no injuries. The plant is operational. Plant personnel are investigating the cause of the transformer issue,” Luminant said.

The 1,600-MW Oak Grove Plant earned POWER‘s Plant of the Year award in 2010 in part for its completion on time and within budget. The plant—located about a two-hour drive north of Houston—used remnants of two Luminant power plants that had been mothballed more than 30 years earlier.

—Sonal Patel, associate editor (@POWERmagazine, @sonalcpatel)