Explosion Damages Electrical System at Virginia Dam

A fire at Philpott Dam in Virginia destroyed equipment already slated to be replaced. One of the switches that carries electricity from the dam’s generators to the power grid exploded, causing a fire in the control room. No one was in the control room at the time.

According to Craig “Rocky” Rockwell, operations project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the blast took place in the basement of the powerhouse along Spillway Road in Henry County.

The fire was under control within an hour, Bassett Fire Chief Junior Lynch said, although crews remained at the dam for several hours.

One firefighter was treated for an injury to his hand, Lynch said.

The explosion did not cause structural damage to the dam, Rockwell added.

The investigation into what caused the explosion is continuing. However, the switchgear system that was destroyed is in the process of being replaced with a more modern system, a project that the Army Corps of Engineers has been working on for several months.

The system that was destroyed was about 65 years old. The new system will have more modern safety features and be housed in a separate building to further minimize the chance of injuries in the event of a system failure.

It is difficult to put a dollar value on the damage, Rockwell said, considering that the switchgear that was destroyed was scheduled to be junked within weeks.

“We’re going through a multi-million dollar upgrade,” he said. “Did it really cost us any more for the system we’re replacing to go down two to three weeks earlier? … If you were going to demolish a building and some kid came in and broke all the windows out of it before they demolished it, could you really say that the kid did any damage?”

Prior to the incident, the switch-over was expected to be completed by mid-summer, but the fire will now change that timeline.

Dominion Power customers will not notice any changes in the meantime, because the utility will simply draw power from its other sources, which is a fairly common occurrence.

Because the dam will not be generating power for the next several weeks, the Corps will work with its water management team to determine a set level of flow that will maintain a steady level in both Philpott Lake and the Smith River.

As of now, there will be no power generation at the dam until the new switchgear building is completed and the new equipment brought online.

The investigation into what happened will continue.