July 20th Deer Valley Substation Fire

Fire at Deer Valley Substation
At about 2:30 a.m. July 20, a 230-kilovolt (kV) transformer at the Deer Valley substation caught fire. The transformer was one of three at the substation, which is located at 35^th Avenue and N. Union Hills. The other two transformers were not damaged by the fire.

Phoenix Fire Department was able to contain the fire by 5 a.m. using both water and suppression foam. 

Once the Fire Department declared the area safe and released the switchyard to APS, employees began preparations to install a replacement. There are two spare transformers that are compatible for use in the substation.

Our emergency response teams have been incrementally returning customers to service by routing electricity through alternate circuits. We have returned power to all customers who lost it this morning, however, the loss of the Deer Valley transformer will make it difficult to meet peak load requirements later this afternoon. Rolling outages in that particular area are possible this afternoon during the peak energy period.

We continue to assess the damage and situation and will conduct an investigation into the cause of this latest incident. The City of Phoenix Police and Fire departments are assisting in the investigation.

Continued Need for Energy Reduction
With expected high temperatures of 113 degrees today – and the additional strain on the system resulting from this morning’s fire – APS & SRP continue to request that Valley residents and businesses reduce their electricity usage, today and throughout the week, especially during the critical hours of 3 to 6 p.m., daily.

Today’s consumption of electricity is projected to be higher than at any point this year.

Valley residents have played an important role in helping both utilities keep the lights on since a July 4 fire severely damaged the Westwing Substation, a major substation jointly owned by APS and SRP.