11 Hours Of Power Outages And House Electrical Fried With 14,400 Volts On Neutral!

[@nics-systems-electric]

Update, insurance has covered all damages and hotel for the occupants. A megger test was performed and the insulation is fine, panel was replaced. It took 3 weeks for the utility to reconnect the service and the occupants are still in a hotel as the hot water tank and furnace still has not been replaced. I don't trust federal Pioneer/federal pacific Stab Lok as much as the next guy. However this incident has nothing to do with them or their breakers with a non-acceptably high failure rate any panel would have fared the same. This came in on the neutral by the time it hit the breakers it had already gone through all the equipment. If a breaker tripped or didn't it's not going to make a difference, 14,400 V is going to jump that small contact as if it's not there.

[@KB99KraYziE]

I believe that if I had had, as a common norm in Europe, for over 40 years, a system with, not only magnetothermal circuit breakers, but with a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter), it would have cut off earlier and would not have gone around the house in the hope that everywhere it would discharge to the ground.

[@niyablake]

@@KB99KraYziE That panel is at least 36 years old most likely 50

[@topher8634]

​@@niyablake 50 sounds right. FPE panels were common back in the 70s. I've changed out dozens of them over the years. Seen a lot of melted conductors that were near fires.

[@wyliesdiesels4169]

@@KB99KraYziE ummm no. a GFCI doesnt care about voltage or overcurrent. a GFCI is NOT i repeat NOT a breaker.

[@KB99KraYziE]

@@wyliesdiesels4169 On the technical side, no, but in an effective certain sense, yes, because you don't have 10, 16, 20, 25, or, for your 110-127v, minimum 32 and more Amperes before something in overcurrent goes into short circuit or discharge to intervene but.... 0.03 Amperes, or 0,3 Amperes maximum as general of the building, with the intervention time of milliseconds. I repeat that since it has been a legal requirement for over 40 years, even when "lightning enters the house and/or from the power line, what saves something in your house is the GFCI, not the circuit breakers, which don't have time to disconnect for the two reasons I told you!

[@ugcjackdee]

that house needs a full rewire

[@nics-systems-electric]

Possibly will. depend on the insulations integrity and they will likely do a megger test I would think.

[@darklore7566]

​@@nics-systems-electriceven if they dont you dont know if the flash arc jumped out the wire insulation inside the wall. Most 12/2 wire cant hold that much voltage. In the US that would be a whole re-wire with that much voltage on such a small wire. Also a whole new sub panel as well.

[@KielGeofersonCeleste-h2t]

Yeah it’s does need to get a full rewire

[@kevxsi16v]

Not necessarily we tested out the cabling fine on similar properties

[@kevxsi16v]

@@nics-systems-electricexactly

[@mitchelltrompeter7658]

Similar thing happened to my neighbors home last week here in Ohio. One phase of the 27,000 lines snapped and landed on my neighbors overhead coax cable. Blew apart the cable box on the side of the house melted the coax line overhead and I’m assuming damaged quite a bit inside the house. Also nothing tripped when it fell so it was laying on the ground live. Bought my yard on fire, melted the concrete sidewalk and blew a hole in their driveway.

[@nics-systems-electric]

Yes I've heard of that happening more commonly definitely a better outcome than your entire service.

[@tankerkiller125]

Father and grandfather were both linemen, I have several souvenirs of Glass made from downed power lines made from all sorts of materials (sand, dirt, clay, concrete, etc.). The largest of which we donated to the school system for their electrical safety class (5th grade) as an example of what the power can do (and why you should stay the fuck away from it). It was about the size of my chest.

[@absolarix]

Trying to wrap my head around this and the video... It... I don't.... WHAT?!?!?!

[@tornadochasingsiege]

that feeling when 14,400 volts comes by to say hi and fucking blows up every electronic in your house

[@nics-systems-electric]

It likes to visit every now and then

[@Imakecapcuts87]

Yea you just be like let’s plug in my phone 3 seconds later 💥💥

[@SWAFanPilot]

lol 😂

[@jimhanty8149]

Was cussing like that really needed to express your point clearly in this type conversation…..geezz……grow up..

[@rich_water]

@@jimhanty8149 this it the fucking internet. let people fucking swear

[@binaryglitch64]

Wow, I've been doing electrical for 27 yrs and I've never seen anything this crazy.

[@javaman2883]

What really sucks is their insurance will resist paying what they should and will drag it out for at least 6 months.

[@nics-systems-electric]

Hopefully not, so far they have provided them with an electrical company however they will likely still be without power for a week since this happened.

[@KennethScharf]

@@nics-systems-electric Well the insurance will have to pay to replace EVERY Appliance, EVERY electronic device, and things like that that antique boom box. If they had an EV charging, it might have to be replaced, not to mention rewiring the entire house. Even though it was an "act of god", you can bet the power company will be counter sued by the insurance company as it was their wiring that caused the issue. Years ago my house got hit by lighting (it hit the chimney and came down the damper cable), causing an EMI spike that blew out my computer lan network, destroying several computers. The insurance company wrote me a blank check to replace everything that was hit. I was nice to them, I was able to repair only the parts of the computers that blew (two mother boards, several lan cards, a network switch, and a power supply). One computer was replaced, I bought that one at a computer show in kit form. (Most of the stuff was home built with parts from places like New Egg, not brand name like Dell). We also had a 40" TV that looked like it was fried, but turned out to only need the picture tube degaussed.

[@c117ls7]

Man that's wild! Imagine sitting there in your house and literally everything arcs and blows up at once

[@DaveAtlas]

I feel like I've seen something like that in a movie or something, but I don't remember the scene...

[@Killerspieler0815]

@c117ls7 - Yeaha an electric hell of a 4th July

[@timcat1004]

Retired CATV tech here. I can tell you that the cable TV/Internet lines will have many blown actives and passives. It probably went for several blocks. It will be awhile before those nodes are back online.

[@eDoc2020]

I don't know what providers are in the area but I'd guess a few people will be switched over to fiber to the home.

[@glynnetolar4423]

At some point there will be fiber amps. They need power. If they cross the amps die, no Internet!

[@eDoc2020]

@@glynnetolar4423 AFAIK commonly deployed fiber networks are 100% passive from the central office all the way to the customer. Obviously power is needed but COs historically have _the_ best backup power systems.

[@jamess1787]

​@@glynnetolar4423 Ehh, splitting hairs. Most fiber connections aren't 200km between sites, so as long as they have reasonable power backup: all is well.... Until the fuel or the natural gas pumps stop running

[@MatthijsvanDuin]

This makes me glad that here in the Netherlands these cables are always buried. Out of curiosity I did a bit of research and found a press release made a few years ago by the largest dutch utility company (Liander) that their last remaining above-ground power connection to a few homes in the village of Zevenhuizen got destroyed in a storm and was replaced by buried cables. Apparently the next lowest distribution level, mostly 10 kV but up to 23 kV, is also all underground, and even new 50 kV cables get buried (but still has existing above-ground lines).

[@nics-systems-electric]

There are pros and cons to both we have both here and I've seen both cause lots of problems

[@MatthijsvanDuin]

@@nics-systems-electric It does at least seem much less likely to create hazardous situations compared to having energized bare conductors all over the place. It probably does help that earthquakes are pretty rare here. Also, I just discovered I was wrong: apparently the Netherlands _does_ still have some above-ground "low voltage" (

[@chadrowland5234]

I have a story about this exact same thing happening. My grandparents lived in a log house back in 1994. In 1997 I believe, they went on a camping trip. Yes, maybe they should have turned off and unplugged everything prior to leaving but who does that? I don't. Anyway, a storm came by while they were gone. Lightning hit the TV antenna on the roof. That lightning traveled down the cable TV line, of course, you know that it melted that. And the TV, of course, you know that it fried it. The lightning then traveled throughout the entire house through the electrical system and took out everything. Washer and dryer, stove, refrigerator so all of the food had to be thrown out, coffee maker, garage door opener, VCR, you name it. Every single last fluorescent light fixture in that house, ballasts had black tar dripping out, ballasts nestled nicely in the potty. Flush it! They lost the whole alarm system. It was a huge mess. And anybody would know that it was academic, all of those things had to be replaced. It even melted the electrical wiring so the house had to be rewired. Bathroom GFCI receptacle, melted. Ceiling fan, gone. That was amazing what lightning can do.

[@Truckguy1970]

Lightning can do some wicked damage! It can actually twist large full I beams. It's been measured in the millions of volts categories

[@glynnetolar4423]

I like to tell people that if a lightning strike can travel miles down the sky. That 1/4 gap is no problem for it. Referring to light switches, power switches. And, depending on the type, proximity of the strike. Whole home surge will do squat.

[@BEdmonson85]

Wow! That is genuinely terrifying, those folks in that house are so lucky they weren't touching any appliances.

[@anonamouse5917]

This is one more reason why trees should not be allowed as close to powerlines as they currently are.

[@jamess1787]

Good luck enforcing that. Lots of people like having trees in their backyard, on private property.

[@anonamouse5917]

Take a shot every time he says 'Fourteen Thousand Four Hundred'.

[@nics-systems-electric]

I like where you're going with this

[@anonamouse5917]

@@nics-systems-electric In all seriousness, it probably would have been better if you only would have used the long form once, and referred to it as '14kV' for the rest of the vid. It reminded my a little of someone overloading text to speech software for shits n giggles.

[@trevorhaddox6884]

Some years ago, maybe a decade or more ago, lightning hit the neighbor's yard where they had an electronic dog fence and it backfed though the ground and blew the whole house like that.

[@graywolf2694]

wow that means you have to replace EVERYTHING, that sucks. lol yep now that you got a power backup system it never goes out.

[@ZT_1234]

@@graywolf2694 I mean, 14KV or not, that pannel was literally recalled for being a fire hazard, so it had to go anyway

[@heronimousbrapson863]

A good argument in favor of burying electrical service cables.

[@znrctrnn]

A Federal Pacific panel will finally be replaced….by the insurance company.

[@yannlandry9242]

Whoa! This is NUTS!! I guess I'm gonna fuse the power lines coming in to my house after this, just in case! This is DEFINITELY going to be a COMPLETE electrical strip down.. That house needs a completely new electrical system, from the panel all the way to the outlets...

[@ferrisr]

Your incoming lines are already protected at your first means of disconnect. Fuses wouldn't have helped anything here since the voltage came on on the neutral. And even if it was legal to fuse your neutral (it isn't), I doubt fuses would blow quick enough to make a difference.

[@Cragified]

Also, fuses are rated at 2x expected maximum current. They do not exist to protect equipment, they exist to stop fires. You don't want momentary high current transients popping fuses all the time.

[@DozIT]

I wonder if a gateway device (for managing Solar/Battery/Line/Generator) would have protected the equipment in the house - acting as a sacrificial node

[@PowderMill]

Even a high quality (I love the Siemens whole house 140) surge protector will melt with such sustained power… ESPECIALLY on the neutral! Keep the high-end Federal Pacific panel & breakers to install at your worst enemy’s home, 😉 Replace EVERY inch of wiring and every device in that premises. Should be 100% insurance covered.

[@mysock351C]

I had this happen at my grandparents house. All the lightbulbs turned into plasma globes and Jacob’s ladders following a lightning strike (Edit: 2:50 that’s pretty much what it looked like, with lots of flames). If I recall the main transmission line and the feeders made a connection. From what I saw at these voltages and currents there was just no way to break the circuit, and ultimately it came to an end when the molten wires came crashing down into the yard. I think what saved the house was the old fuse board with the Edison style screw in fuses ended up sacrificing itself and flashing over internally, which helped clamp it. At any rate we were without power for quite a while. Needed a new transformer, feeders, disconnect, meter, and panel after that one. Quite a sight, tho.

[@peterking1134]

All the wiring in the house has to be replaced!

[@nics-systems-electric]

It will be left up to the electrical contractor if they find the insulation is no good. I can't say for sure it's integrity.

[@coreybabcock2025]

Definitely

[@flipschwipp6572]

Yes you cant trust anything electrical that was connectet at the time of incident. Safety of Insulation is compromised.

[@coreybabcock2025]

@flipschwipp6572 definitely agree

[@DjResR]

​@@nics-systems-electricResidental wiring are rated 500V max, rewire is obligatory or it will cause fire in the future._

[@jcc3279]

Nic, Glad no one was hurt my friend. I would honestly look into replacing your Federal Pacific/Pioneer Stab Lock panel also just a pre caution. I mean you have that newer box next to it i would say just when the time comes move all the circuits over from the FPE to that newer box at your place. I went through Hurricane Ian, Nicole and Milton here in Florida and when i lived in Michigan the Polar Vortex of 2014 and several ice storms thank god both my old house and new house both have whole house generators. And the sound of a generator running a school or this case my house is music to my ears. and yes i know it wasn't your panel that got fried Nic I'm just saying now would be a good time to eventually remove yours.

[@JMWtrainsnstuff]

That isn't his panel.

[@jcc3279]

@@JMWtrainsnstuff i know it wasn't I was just saying since nic has one also this would be a good time to start looking into replacing his FPE panel also.

[@PowderMill]

FPE is the BEST panel/breaker system for doing home arc welding! The breakers never trip. All kidding aside, I was a firefighter and licensed electrical contractor for my days off “side work”. In NJ, home of Federal Pacific’s Newark ghetto mfg plant, the installed base of Stab-Lok” panels kept me upgrading services for 20+ years. On the firefighting side, I’ve seen so many residential fires with FPE panels/breakers. Scary stuff. NEVER chance using the newer 3rd party (UL listed) breakers. Replace the panel and breakers!

[@PowderMill]

PLEASE do NOT re-energize that home!,! Obviously, change the feeders and panel and breakers. Go Square-D QO. It’s worth the few extra bucks. Replace EVERY INCH of branch circuit wiring and EVERY electrical device ! The damage to the conductors and/or insulation is impossible to detect. This should be a completely covered insurance claim. In addition: Much of the electronics plugged in at the time should be analyzed thoroughly before using !

[@PowderMill]

There’s a good chance that a whole house surge protector (Siemens makes the best IMHO) would NOT have helped. They are made to clamp down on extremely short TRANSIENT voltages exceeding the rating of the protection device. Having a 14kv primary coming in contact with ANY conductor entering the premises will far exceed the capability of the device. They are intended to protect from extremely short transient excessive voltage like that from a lightning strike a mile down the road. NOT from a primary sitting ENERGIZED until the overcurrent protection for the primary trips out. If not a fuse in the field, it could end up being a self-resetting breaker along the line or at a substation. That’s a LONG time for the damage to occur. Another reason to be VERY cautious at the scene of any downed power lines? Reclosers! To prevent “nuisance” tripping of transmission lines, many overcurrent protection devices will AUTOMATICALLY attempt to restore power after tripping !! (up to x number of times in x minutes). I’ve seen videos of firefighters working to extricate passengers of a motor vehicle crash with primaries down on the ground and vehicle. Everyone “assumed” it was safe to approach. After work began, the recloser restored power, killing several rescuers. The original crash victims were actually protected in the vehicle. Always be SAFE!

[@ElevatorsWithOwen]

I live in Florida, we recently had Hurricane Milton. And this is about what my town looked like as well

[@jcc3279]

I'm also in Florida i'm in the Orlando Area Holy Hell Milton was nuts. I moved from the Detroit Area to the Orlando area about 4 years ago and i rode out Ian, Nicole and Milton. Thank god for my whole house generator.

[@ElevatorsWithOwen]

@@Jamey_ETHZurich_TUe_Rulez some power lines are underground. Mine is. But only when going into the neighborhood

[@charlestrusky6414]

Hey! I am an elementary school teacher around Tacoma Washington. Our power also went out while I was teaching on Monday November 4th 2024

[@gamerboy12970]

Are you alright am so excited for this video 😊 am happy you are okay it is so cool seeing the system works were you home

[@retrozmachine1189]

I see people talking about fuses, breakers and surge arrestors. There's no practical, as in will work at a price that can be afforded, defence against this for a householder. The only viable option is for the MV to be turned off by the power company when winds exceed a certain speed. This is actually done in areas prone to hurricanes / cyclones. Of course you then get bombarded by people that complain the power is off. Even in places where the neutral is switched (yes the UK and others, I'm looking at you), 14kV is just going to look at the piddly gap that a 240V breaker has and leap across it.

[@davidmenjivar6328]

recloser.... on MV line

[@retrozmachine1189]

@@davidmenjivar6328 Umm no. For starters it'll blow the crap out of your installation before it opens the first time. Then it'll close and give the installation another blast. Then depending on the programming it'll do it again. Then after it's completely destroyed everything in your house with 2 or 3 whacks it'll decide, right - I'll stay open this time since we have a hard fault.

[@retrozmachine1189]

@@liam3284 L-L of the transformer really doesn't make any difference if you still run a grounded neutral in the MV. All of what you've said is still reactive so by the time any of the protection goes off the electrical in the house is still destroyed.

[@martinaguilar5905]

First, the house that had everything electrical shorted by 14,400 volts reminds me of an entire neighborhood that had everything electrical including transformers short out. I was not in the neighborhood but it was big news. The cause was a tree trimmer that had cut a tree branch and the tree branch landed on the power lines including the ones above that are similar to 14,400 volts sending that similar amount throughout the neighborhood blowing lights, shorting out appliances including air conditioners, and even the big transformers on the surface for large buildings including large apartment complexes blew. It was probably in the 90s when this happened and not even surge protectors were spared. All from a tree branch a tree trimmer cut. Second, I had dealt with power outages especially from November to March from storms with gusts powerful enough to knock down trees in 10 years living in the countryside and taking hours for power to be restored. The longest I went through a power outage was 48 hours almost 25 years ago. There was also snow I had experienced every year in the valley when it gets cold enough for valley snow and power outages from the weight of the snow on the trees. Did not have any generator so had to use all that was old fashion to get through the power outages especially the longest I experienced of 48 hours.

[@RoySATX]

And people laugh at me for unplugging everything during storms.

[@kirkanos771]

Not just simply unplugging. But get the stuff away from the plug. So much current arcs far. And the lines in the wall burn literally.

[@NelsonBigGunP200Fan]

My grandpa would always unplug everything important when he went to bed or left the house. He lived in NC and there was always a popup storm with lightning hitting everywhere.

[@ZT_1234]

I mean, that stab lok panel had to be replaced anyway, that in itself is a fire hazard

[@nics-systems-electric]

Yes they have a high failure rate there's still millions of them here in Canada.

[@musicnerd72]

Flipping insane dude! Gotta love Mother Nature!

[@mysock351C]

I’ve seen this same type of incident first hand. All your outlets and appliances do really, really scary things. Fortunately nobody was hurt here, but it’s not something I will ever forget, and I’m sure they won’t, either.

[@jamess1787]

Had this exact thing happen to a customers house. Primary disconnected from the transformer, fell on guys secondary. His only concern was getting his internet running while the electrician was replacing the damaged legs in his house. Blew anything with motors in it, microwave, Jacuzzi, bathroom fan, washer, dryer, air conditioner, crazy stuff. PEOPLE, this is why you buy UL/CSA listed equipment, they test against faults like this to make sure the power adapter plugged in to charge your phone doesn't kill you.

[@lelandclayton5462]

As a low voltage tech I see stuff like this every year here in Florida. Either from hurricanes or what I call the rain season through August and September when we get a lot of thunderstorms. I've seen alarm keypads blown off the wall, transformers and wallwarts blown apart. Seen homes that are not even a year old get hit like this and I feel for the customer. Spent anywhere to 500,000 to a million on a new home and six months later everything electrical wise blown to hell.

[@00crashtest]

In the US, they call this 25,000Y/14,400 volts.

[@DieyoungDiefast]

Looking at the damage, I'd say for peace of mind and safety's sake, it's a 100% rewire job.

[@nics-systems-electric]

Would be interesting to see what happens maybe they can do a megger test and determine the insulation integrity.

[@Ch1n4Sailor]

Replace?????!!!!! His WHOLE HOUSE needs to be COMPLETELY RE-WIRED!!!!

[@nics-systems-electric]

Megger test went good 👍

[@5Dale65]

If this happens never try to unplug anything from the wall. Your equipment would already be long gone at that moment, and if you pull a plug you will draw a high voltage arc that might potentially jump onto your hand and fry you alive. It's pretty scary for someone who lives in Europe, as high voltage lines are mostly well separated from the low voltage distribution part. I heard about such a case once, when a 15kV line went across someones yard and had fallen over the low voltage house feeder line during a storm. The outcome was similiar, most of the sockets had black soot around them, some cables were ripped from the walls, and all electrical equipment was non existent. Fortunatelly this is such a rare condition here, that I have heard about in the main national news programme.

[@9a3hp]

And this is reason why in Europe and most world we never bound neutral and ground wire. Ground wire is separate wire , never bounded with neutral.

[@nics-systems-electric]

I don't see how that would've helped the situation here.

[@9a3hp]

​​@@nics-systems-electric in Europe and rest of world we gave no such this high voltage over streets, just 230V 3 phase and neutral if some wire fall in transformer station circuit breaker tripp, and ground sistem keep all apliance metal surface on zero volt. All time. If light strike in wires same happened, circuit breaker tripp also RCD in every house. Disconecting all 3 phase and neutral wire. Nort American electric system is obsolete when switch from DC to AC , and transforer on the poles for every house, really? Worst possible electric system. I can even reach 10kV wires, not possible. Problem in North America is obsolete electric system. Must be change.

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@9a3hp you have quite a bit of information incorrect, but the reason for bonding neutral and ground is the ground alone is often too high resistance to trip overcurrent protection. However if it's bonded to the neutral that provides a low resistance path that will ensure over current protection is tripped.

[@9a3hp]

​@@nics-systems-electric tehnicaly North American electric system is obsolete and this is major problem. Hi voltage lines must be far away from peoples. An in Europe high voltage line is very far away from people. First one high voltage line is half mile away from me and any house. 14.4 kV line over street is stupidity.

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@9a3hp I don't believe that there is no high voltage around a city. The only way for efficient distribution is a relatively high voltage.

[@topher8634]

Its a miracle a fire wasn't started. There was a similar scenario where I work back during hurricane Helene. Transmission lines came down feeding one of the facility's transformers. The recloser didn't open all three legs, just one of them-single phasing about 40 3 phase motors and compressors. About half of them went up in smoke because its an old place that has seen many hands over the years and unfortunately the motor starters didn't have the right heaters in them to trip the overload relays in time to save the motor. Some of them were bypassing the overload entirely. Luckily, the refrigeration compressors have an inherent protection built-in to take it offline in the event of an overload. Motor burns inside of a sealed system wreak a lot of havoc.

[@DrHarryT]

Surge protectors are for relatively small voltage fluctuations under 100V. 14KV with massive current available is WAY beyond the capability of standard household circuits and devices.

[@FI-TECH-250]

Horrible, but cool. Imagine telling someone "You got a 230v service? W E A K. I HAVE A FUGGIN 14,4KV SERVICE!" if you accually had devices for that voltage, the effinciency would be insane!

[@nics-systems-electric]

That shit comes in on the neutral so you ain't even paying for it either haha

[@FI-TECH-250]

@@nics-systems-electric QUICK, CHARGE THE BATTERIES ( with a 15kv step down module ofc lol)

[@aaronjamt]

​@@nics-systems-electricProblem is you'd still have to ground off something, likely the hot, so you'd still be sending it through the meter. Although, it'd be going backwards, at really high voltage... I wonder how many kWh your meter would rewind by from that, lol

[@Jon-hx7pe]

@@nics-systems-electric need to not report it and buy own step-down transformer for free electricity!

[@glynnetolar4423]

A fine example of whole house surge suppressors don't save you from everything. But there sure are many that will sell you on that.

[@RoyHess666]

Nobody is in the school building, still being lit brighter than the surface of the sun -> wasting electrical energy

[@nics-systems-electric]

That is emergency and 24/7 lighting it has to stay on and can't be shut off.

[@RoyHess666]

@@nics-systems-electric I see this is some regulatory stuff then, still odd that it is so bright, are these at least LED lights and not those old fluorescent ones?

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@RoyHess666 50/50 LED fluorescent. stairwells are required to be 100% illuminated in a power outage and the corridors are 50% of the regular lighting or less. Atrium and large occupancy spaces only have a couple light fixtures on back up lighting probably 20% or less.

[@atlasz911]

It still sounds like a waste over night when nobody is in the building. That generator eat a lot of fuel just to illuminate an empty building. A smaller generator supplying the fridges, alarm and boiler control circuits (if it's a gas boiler) would have saved some money. The big generator could remain fueled for the case there is a need to evacuate people into the school or to power the building during school hours.

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@atlasz911 It's already a relatively small generator. It's only powering life safety. No HVAC as the air to water heat pumps, which are the primary source consume a lot of power. Running the emergency lighting is only 30% of the generators total capacity. Running all of the emergency lighting only consumes about 23 A but needs to be capable of running the atrium smoke exhaust fan system in case of a fire.

[@bradwilmot5066]

You are correct that a surge protector would not have done anything (except become another grenade when the 14.4k flashed over inside it as well)... In fact, it might have made it worse, as the MOVs would have briefly shunted the 14.4k even more directly onto the hot conductors (before the MOVs finished vaporizing...).

[@MrChrisRP]

The lights controlled by photocells still have current when the light is off. That's exactly how they work.

[@anthonymarino4260]

great vid well. done always learning

[@UKsystems]

This is why it is recommended to have arc flash gear on if the panel is not isolated external as it can happen in your face in the event of this issue surge protection could help but it is a very special industrial version.

[@SWAFanPilot]

Welp, that happened. Stay safe Nic!

[@JoeCdaYT]

Well, time for the panel to get replaced under the insurance since it is an old Stab-loc panel.

[@mikeross880]

Interesting to see that an FPE/Federal Pioneer panel responded but I guess that this was just such an event that even the cheapest of breakers would have tripped anyways.

[@ATSNorthernMI]

What happened to the grounding system in the house? There could've been some resistance from corrosion of an older grounding system that it couldn't handle enough current and voltage to blow the fuse on the primary before it cooked everything. Those FPE panels are dangerous themselves, surprised the breakers tripped at all. Had a similar incident where a house that had one of those panels was hit by lightening and stuff like that happened when they still had power. None of the breakers tripped and it actually started a fire in the living room because of electrical outlets cooking in the walls arching out. The home owner and wife watched their brand new at the time flat screen tv show a lighting bolt through the center before it blew out the screen and said the receptacles all the way along with walls had sparks and flames shooting out. It would be at least a complete tear out and rewire.

[@nics-systems-electric]

I don't think grounding system would have helped regardless of its condition. The grounding system alone I don't think would stand a chance to trip that line. That line feeds over 3000 customers it's a major feeder. I've seen tests done with a grounding system by itself without neutral often doesn't even trip a 15 amp breaker. The neutral/multi grounded system of the utility is in my opinion the only thing that would trip it and those older lines did not have their neutral as frequently grounded. And I would think it's pretty undersized for a primary conductor supplying such a large part of the city to come in contact with it it's resistance was probably way too high to trip quick enough.

[@stillthakoolest]

Yeah im curious what the electrodes in use were. Maybe water or ground rods? The grounding electrode system is designed to deal with this sort of thing, though its not perfect. Even at a few hundred ohms resistance to earth, there should be enough current to flow to trip the primary breakers at 14,400V. (Wouldnt do anything at 120 or 240, of course), but of course thats an ideal situation and there are so many variables at play, including time​@@nics-systems-electric

[@ghostrider-be9ek]

so glad I left the lower mainland years ago - between the wind storms and multi day power outages, 40 days of rain in a row, and the monster inevitable earthquake (M8-9 ), there is not a lot to like

[@nics-systems-electric]

Much worth it to me. I wouldn't ever want to live not near the coast. The beauty is worth it.

[@ghostrider-be9ek]

@@nics-systems-electric the beauty of 6 months of grey and drizzle? lol no thanks - Iived 26 years on the wet coast , move across the rockies - never again

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@ghostrider-be9ek yes all sessions are nice. There is beauty and all of it if you go to the right places.

[@dashcamandy2242]

18:32 - We have the law on the books in Connecticut, and I can't imagine it NOT being a law in all the other states, that you treat a non-functioning/malfunctioning traffic signal as an "all-ways stop." I can't tell you how many times I've almost been rear-ended for stopping at a traffic signal that has no power, even when public works puts out portable "STOP" signs in the street itself. 18:41 - And that's pretty much what I shout, almost word-for-word, although there's usually an obscenity or three thrown in for good measure. Of course, I'm in a car with the windows mostly-up. 😆 19:28 - I appreciate the fact that the pump house isn't built to look like Generic Pump House. 19:55 - Hey, buddy, where you gonna charge that Tesla right now, eh? 🤪 (I'm part Canadian, I can say that, right?) My house has ~300' buried feed, I've never felt better about that than I do after a major storm. Trees can fall in the woods, trees can fall across the driveway, but I don't have to worry about the power lines. As long as the neighbors who back out of their driveway at 20 MPH at 6 AM without looking have power, we have power. 😆

[@nics-systems-electric]

Yup same thing here nonfunctional traffic lights is to be used as a four-way stop. There are so many idiots out there though I'll just stop and then go and make the other is not stopping have to do it very abruptly.

[@jacksonledford6874]

No it depends on the intersection. If im going down a 5 or 6 lane mahor roadway im not going to stop for every little light esecially when i see there is nobody on either side of that intersection. And at large intersections at heavy traffic you need to go in groups of 2 to 4 cars to get though with any efficiency

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@jacksonledford6874 well if you try that here you are probably going to get hit.

[@MicheIIePucca]

This is the thing with BC, sooo many high trees and high number of all power lines being overhead. When I lived in Surrey, we had many power failures in the fall when the winds got crazy, and mostly all all due to trees falling on power lines.

[@nics-systems-electric]

That's for sure

[@neohistoryfan1014]

There's a reason I call the Federal Pacific STAB-LOK "the electrical panel from hell"

[@nics-systems-electric]

They aren't good panels however this incident would have happened to any brand.

[@River-ek7ev]

I’m back everybody

[@River-ek7ev]

@@nics-systems-electric I’m back

[@KevinLyons-gn7eu]

@@nics-systems-electric what you was it when the power went out when you were a little kid date month number of year

[@TitaniumTurbine]

@@KevinLyons-gn7eu What makes you think someone would remember that? Weird question. 😂

[@FrankHeuvelman]

We don't have that in the Netherlands. We bury all utility lines. Not cheap but very reliable.

[@jamess1787]

It still happens, animals still get into electrical cabinets and short across phases. Don't think buried utilities are immune to dumb people with drills or heavy machinery.

[@FrankHeuvelman]

@@jamess1787 That isn't really a problem because every buried item is well documented and up to date and you'll need a permit before you can start digging anywhere. The city will thoroughly look at the location's maps before giving the go ahead and print out a map with every buried item, together with suggestions about where and how to dig. The digging company is fully responsible when drilling or digging at the wrong spot and will have to pay a big fine when they mess up. So no, these kind of accidents are very rare because there is a lot of money involved when making stupid mistakes. I've never heard about these kind of mistakes being made here.

[@MrKeithsplace]

The surge protector would have helped, maybe slightly, as in some amount of over current would have been shunted to ground but not anywhere near the over voltage current the triplex was exposed to. Only commercial grade lightning/surge suppressor mounted outside connected to mains, with extra grounding would have protected it. I used to install them in telco offices, they where probably about $2000 years ago. Think they go from like 160K amps and up.

[@gallowaylights]

00:17:00 Why are we illuminating an empty school? 😮

[@nics-systems-electric]

It's emergency lighting it legally has to be.

[@FOHGeek]

Surge absorbers might help reducing damage of sudden HV intrusion into mains system. When the voltage goes beyond a certain value, it immediate shorts out and bypasses almost all the HV current directly to the ground before the main breaker pops.

[@FOHGeek]

@@liam3284 The ground conductor only need to hold this current for a fraction of second before the main breaker senses the abnormal current and block all the following high voltage crap outta the circuit.

[@parkerholden7140]

If you suffer a power outge it is a good idea to disconnect your load. Monitor the power at the meter with a light bulb of the correct voltage or a multimeter and when the power comes back on, then you can reconnect the load if all is OK

[@cosmiccolossus668]

WOW! This storm hit you all on my birthday!

[@audibell]

Time for all new equipment

[@Josb_Bluebird2143]

I think its odd that all of the lights in the school came on when the power was out and they stayed on. Back on June 22nd 2016 my parents have a huge oak tree in their front yard, it got struck by lightning. Fried a bunch of electronics like our TV, router/modem, printer and a stereo I had. It even set our smoke detectors off. Scares the crap out of you when you are asleep and then hear a loud clap of thunder and them smoke alarms. That was fun!

[@firealarm421]

I’m glad you didn’t lose power at home. Great video too

[@nics-systems-electric]

I was hoping I would all day I never get lucky with it.

[@ZT_1234]

Half of Nick would say: "ah dammit" The other half would say: "Content"

[@Defianthuman]

@@nics-systems-electric yeah that's me too sometimes all the times we have lost power i didn't have my 1000 watt pure sign wave inverter, and now we never lose power. We also never lost it for more than 4 hours so we didn't need to run the fridge we would just tape it shut.

[@TheLiamerator]

Down here in south africa, specifically the province of Eastern Cape, there are many traffic lights that are out, mostly due to rampant copper theft, leaving many intersections without power, for years, still no one uses them as 4 way stops

[@v12alpine]

Neighbor once lost their nuetral connection at the utility pole, almost everything 120v powered instantly blew up.

[@joaquinfernandesgarcia996]

25:42 That beeping sound would be the "low fuel level" alarm. The fuel tank is almost empty at this point

[@jensschroder8214]

What is triplex? Do you mean the three-pin cable? In Germany, the medium voltage (10 - 20 kV) is installed separately from the 230 - 400V. In recent years, medium voltage has been removed from the masts and laid in underground cables. Especially in forest areas and near residential areas. The reason is that no trees fall on it. The residential voltage (230 - 400V) is also taken from the houses during road construction work and laid in underground cables.

[@KennethScharf]

Wonder if a lightning arrester from the neutral to hard ground would have saved the bacon here.

[@VitorFM]

Crazy! I was watching this video about power outage, and simply got a power outage myself due to bad weather 😮. At least it was short! P.S.: I live in Brazil

[@josefmazzeo6628]

The voltage was so high, the outlets made a scary face 😲.

[@Sotzrem2007]

Same day blew out my UPS on my server that night. Fried 1 pc power supply, thankfully no data lost. Live in the same city on the island.

[@akana_]

there was a flying patio table cover that shorted three phases at the white rock substation lol never knew you lived in bc! that's awesome tho! i went watching planes struggling to land in the wind at YVR, that was fun. the wind was pretty harsh.

[@nics-systems-electric]

I've Plane spotted at YVR many times definitely would have been fun to watch.

[@christopherzatalokin8652]

Crazy, that entire house will need to be rewired. Very smart of you to not touch anything. Even pulling one cover off of an outlet would make you liable for meddling with things.

[@nics-systems-electric]

Yeah I'm interested to see if that's the case or not it's a situation I've never dealt with. I'm not sure if some locations can be looked at to check the integrity of the insulation or since it's rating has been exceeded it's got to go.

[@xnizonyt]

I had an insurance claim from a lightning strike. Luckily didnt need a full rewire but i did get a lot of new IT gear. As long as the adjuster has documented everything you should be good to take a closer peek, but ask the adjuster first.

[@allangibson8494]

Insurance claim for “fusion”. Standard house insurance line item. Full rewire required… Very lucky that it wasn’t a fire claim.

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@allangibson8494 hopefully they won't require a rewire if the megger test gives fine results.

[@aksuarez]

When I bought my home in 2007 (my father was an electrical engineer and I was slave labor until I graduated college) it had some knob and tube...So, since I was replacing it, I upgraded to 200amps, buried the power lines (SEC), then bonded the grounded connector at a Safe Disconnect I installed right after the meter. Then wired the rest of the home (main panel which was now a subpanel etc.). Well, I bought the BAD WOLF Surge Arrestor (on steroids, even for EMP, nuclear joules level, for about $250) and installed it at the Safe Disconnect (to meet any voltage tsunami even before it entered my home), then another surge protector for 80,000, at the first panel (distribution), then two subpanels after that one, each with another surge protector. I also tied the neutral to the gas ad water lines. Then, in heavy appliances, I bought a surge protected outlet (not GFCI, SURGE). We has a nasty storm in 2013, insurance had to pay for replacing my roof shingles...BUT NO DAMAGE INSIDE, NONE! My electrical system as intact. Yet, five of my neighbors fried their homes and I could see trucks taking out drywall and replacing wires for weeks afterwards. I knew if the BAD WOLF was not enough (it was), then whatever leftover reached my first electrical panel would be much less, and so on. Also, being a bad storm, I turned off the breakers for the AC, dryer, Etc. If OFF, then the path is interrupted and will not reach those appliances.

[@mina47879]

I think a surge protector would have "worked" in the sense that it would have blown the surge protector into little bits along with everything else in the house lmao. Surge protectors usually use Metal Oxide Varistors, basically reaistors that become a short above a voltage threshold to cap spikes. So they will work in both directions not just one.

[@Doug-gp2qw]

I wonder if the homeowners insurance covers this or if it the utilities responsibility.

[@nics-systems-electric]

Was covered by the homeowners insurance

[@bavarianmonkey8326]

looks like having above-ground HV lines in the middle of a residential area and stepping the voltage down using trashcan-lookalike transformers on wood poles is not a very resilient concept. Here in Germany, we have HV 3phase below ground and transformers that serve multiple buildings and I have yet to hear a story like this one...

[@nics-systems-electric]

I don't see the material of the pool being a factor commonly. The aesthetics of the Transformers doesn't play much factor in the outcome of incidences. Older areas like this from the 60s are common to have above ground distribution other factors like ground conditions do play factors if underground distribution is possible as well as cost. It seems to be a misconception that buried distribution is not vulnerable however it most certainly is.

[@RailBuffRob]

I live in a city where the majority of intersections are 4-way-stop, maybe 20% of drivers have a clue what to do, most seem to think that stopping for half a second gives them total right of way regardless of other traffic.

[@nics-systems-electric]

Is it not first to get there has right of way after stopping?

[@RailBuffRob]

@@nics-systems-electric That's the law, nobody including cops cares about that. These days, if you stop for half a second, every other driver at that intersection is violating your rights by existing and needs to be put in their place.

[@rarelampcollector]

Even if it were code approved to have functional breakers or fuses on both the hot and neutrals (this means NOT Federal Pacific Electric or Zinsco) complete with whole home surge, protection, with a sustained 14,440 volts on the neutral, it's still very unlikely any electrical items in the home would have survived. Fun fact: In the U.S., some very old electrical systems installed in the 1930s and earlier, had a double fused system (Edison base fuse on the hot and neutral of each circuit) . This was deemed very unsafe, because a blown, loose or missing neutral fuse will cause everything on that circuit stop working, leading the homeowner or electrician to start fiddling around with what appears to be a dead circuit that is in fact, live at 120 volts relative to ground, and because wiring systems of this vintage were two wire with no equipment ground, whoever is working on it becomes the path to ground.

[@chuckr7871]

I would question whether the grounding bond was adequate and up to code with the correct gauge wire.

[@nics-systems-electric]

Just needs to be #6 nothing that big

[@NSaw1]

A whole house surge protector doesn't care if the surge is on the neutral or hot. All it does is keep the voltage down between it's terminals to reduce the spikes. Although it *might* have helped a tinny bit, there's not hardly anything that can keep thousands of amps at 14kv from blowing everything up, including a surge protector lol Surge protectors aren't a reliable protection from constant high voltage, or direct lightning strikes. (Some are, but not the regular residential surge protectors) It really only helps for surges from line or tap switching or other smaller voltage surges.

[@allangibson8494]

Actual lightning protectors are available but the duration of a HV fault to distribution would probably destroy those too. Lightning strikes don’t last longer than seconds and this sounds like the HV didn’t have earth fault detection.

[@hygri]

Wow, what a mess. That poor house... no way that'll pass a megger test. Even if it's mostly OK the insulation will still be damaged, lucky the house is OK! Great report, a follow up would be interesting

[@nics-systems-electric]

Yeah it would be interesting to find out what the megger test shows if they go ahead and do that.

[@hygri]

​@@nics-systems-electric Would be... probably a dead short 😬

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@hygri I wouldn't be surprised by anything I've seen 600 V from a fluorescent ballast cause a mess with 300 V insulation can't imagine how it would handle 14,400 lol

[@hygri]

@@nics-systems-electric Probably not well eh, I'm imagining lots of pinhole shorts everywhere - what a mess. The arc flash says it all, that must have been terrifying.

[@JohnSvensson-j6m]

Sounds like a total re-wire job for the whole house….that means pulling off all the sheet rock

[@nics-systems-electric]

Megger test came back ok just damaged equipment.

[@lukedavis436]

Good god!, hopefully they didn't have anything vintage plugged in at the time as there's a very slim chance insurance will be able to replace it.

[@solawiking]

The electrical grid in Scandinavia is better designed 400 V 3Phace in the homes HV poverlines are on different places In rural areas all is in the ground

[@nics-systems-electric]

I'm not sure what you mean by being on different phases as every line in a three phase system is a different phase. The thing is the cost involved with bearing everything underground is massive so in rural and non-densely populated areas it's not realistic. Especially in a country many many times larger than Scandinavia.

[@wired-up]

@@nics-systems-electric He said different Places. Not running high and low voltage lines on the same poles.

[@danielelise7348]

In short,no a surge arrester would not do anything in this case.

[@Манлетопия]

maybe if it has a failure mode where the unit cuts the power like the tripp lite brand does

[@glennschlorf1285]

Id say temporarily replace all wiring in the house... but at least replace the main breaker panel and triplex, meter base and drop to get 120/240v into the house... at least then they could get at least power into house

[@nics-systems-electric]

I believe the wiring past the megger test fine. Panel will be replaced. Triplex is the utilities property and they left the old one.

[@West_Kootenay_railfan]

Holy shit, hope ya'll are ok.

[@RJARRRPCGP]

August 4, 2023=Had lightning that almost hit the house, multiple times!

[@jimmydandy9364]

FPE has a solid reputation as Fire Producing Electric. I'm surprised many of the likes of these dbs have gotten away with it, just like Zinsco and the rest.

[@Hyd_mobiletech]

Wow, hope y'all okay, I live in the state, September 27th hurricane helene hit me here in South Carolina, was almost out of power for 3 weeks, theres a lot of stuff down still, barely have cable internet lol

[@TehPlayer14]

14.4KV AC that's almost like electrification voltage in German catenary for trains (Its 16KV AC btw)

[@r3tr0nic]

A whole house surge would not of made a difference here, not with the fault energy amount available in this scenario. The 120/240V secondary of a transformer has it's neutral earthed, and that is ultimately where the 14kV is looking to go. The neutral on the secondary is centre tapped, so the two 120V legs are essentially parallel paths back to earth, going through the transformer windings being one path, and any load (dryer, devices, lights, everything) being each multiple additional paths. Does not matter which primary phase shorted to neutral; The result would be the same since the neutral/earth is common between all primary phases and secondary. There are so many parallel paths, and a typical electrical system to a house has multiple bonding/earthing points. The result is a complex matrix of paths, and makes for an interesting fault case study. Some paths would have greater energy then others. Surge protectors are almost always just MOVs, and they would of just burnt up/exploded instantly much like the dryer and boombox power supply and would have had basically no effect. The sheer amount of energy available on primary lines is intense (just look at all the videos out there of arcing and faults). Electricity demands so much respect

[@theonewhowas7709]

nov 4th.. even here in alabama.. the wind was blowing like crazy.. i had my window open cause it was feeling nice.. and all sudden.. got gusts all night like crazy... i was like WOW

[@isettech]

Actually whole house surge protection would have helped, even though it would be damaged. It would provide a path between all conductors including neutral, which would limit the peak voltage between conductors. What this would not protect, is anything tied to another potential such as a cable modem, or phone line, unless the house main ground/neutral is bonded to the lightning protection for the CATV, and phone lines. The other common path for this type of over voltage is controls for underground sprinkler systems. By providing voltage clamping and high current bypass with the whole house surge protection, the damage at the outlets, light switches, etc would have been reduced. Even the main panel arc flash may have been suppressed as the flash would be mostly confined to the surge protection. A good whole house surge protector should contain both Metal Oxide Varistors and spark gaps. The spark gaps take over when the varistors are destroyed by overcurrent. This should initiate the arc flash inside the surge protection, and may stop arc flashes downstream of the panel by limiting the peak voltage at the secondary arc flash points, except the mentioned sprinkler, phone, and cable connections if they are not bonded.

[@All_ConsumingBandu]

Here in Alberta, I feel lucky and thankful that I have never lost power once for as long as I lived here, especially because my smoke detectors are not battery backup which is very bad. Also is monthly testing on Saturday?

[@rovitogaming]

We have underground power lines here, so that provides some piece of mind

[@CapStar362]

"That turbo is probably red hot, you never want to shut down a hot turbo like that" Genny shuts down due to low fuel Nic - Well shit LOL ------ Also - Nic, you have quite possibly the LARGEST highschool i have ever seen in my life. there are some big ones near me in Atlanta GA, but not even close to your former HS's campus. MY LORD

[@nics-systems-electric]

Yes more reasons management should listen to the guys that work on this stuff when they suggest to refill it so there isn't a repeat of last time but of course what do the guys in the field know…

[@CapStar362]

@@nics-systems-electric you have no idea how many times ive been down that argument as well, management exists to manage things, based on information received from the experts who facilitate your management. You wouldn't have anything to manage if it wasn't for us tradesmen!

[@Mintyocean-GTAG]

Hey NIC for November testing for garage doa detector in the generator room and for house pull by the Fire panel.

[@Spechtlerimwald]

Woow. At least the meter also is zapped and probably no more metering until everything fixed.

[@nics-systems-electric]

I was thinking about that and thought the metre might've actually made it out ok since it doesn't have any neutral connection just the two hot legs.

[@Spechtlerimwald]

@@nics-systems-electric If it's a electronic/smart meter, it reallly should have a connection to neutral,....

[@nics-systems-electric]

@@Spechtlerimwald yes they are all smart metres and I've never seen one connected to neutral.

[@arp_catchall]

Stay away from switches/receptacles during storms. My neighbor got killed after lightning strike hit their supply pole.