Hayward power station explosion blamed on equipment design flaws

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Hayward power plant explosion blamed on equipment design flaws

The owner of a power plant in Hayward blames design problems and equipment failures – not human error – for the explosion and fire that sent shrapnel flying through the air in May last.

HAYWARD, Calif. – The owner of a power plant in Hayward blames design issues and equipment failures – not human error – for the explosion and fire that sent shrapnel into the air last May. But he also tries to keep the detailed cause of the incident a secret from the public.

The town of Hayward told KTVU last year that pieces of heavy metal, some weighing more than 50 pounds, traveled hundreds of feet onto nearby town and community property when a steam turbine collapsed. at the Russell City Energy Center.

No one was hurt.

The power plant, which has been in operation since 2013 and bills itself as a high-efficiency combined-cycle power plant, is owned by Calpine.

This month, Calpine sent a letter to the California Energy Commission regarding the alleged cause of the explosion and subsequent fire.

Calpine said the failure to detect excess high-temperature pressurized water, gearbox malfunction and other design issues by the contractor caused or contributed to the explosion.

“These types of occurrences are very rare in the Calpine fleet and are taken very seriously,” the letter read in part. “We have commissioned an independent expert to analyze the root cause of the event and provide recommended corrective actions to prevent its recurrence.”

However, Calpine filed four requests for confidentiality, including one relating to the root cause analysis. The company said if made public, it could be useful to someone planning an attack on critical infrastructure or revealing trade secrets.

This means that documents related to the incident would be kept secret from the public. A decision has not yet been made and is still under review.

Calpine said the root cause was not delayed maintenance or operator error, despite previous safety issues.

The new details come as state regulators plan a thorough inspection and audit of the plant early next month.

At a California Energy Commission business meeting on Wednesday, regulators said they promised to get a full picture of what happened and prevent another unplanned explosion.

“We were just appalled by the situation,” Commissioner Patty Monahan said. “No lives were lost, but they could have been. Ensuring we do everything we can to make communities safe while we provide electricity is a core value for all of us.”

Following the May 2021 incident, the Russell City Energy Center was closed for several months. It restarted in low-power mode to supply the network during critical periods of need at the end of last summer.

The plant sat idle in November and Calpine said it was undergoing steam turbine repairs to have everything fully operational by this summer.

The company also said it inspected its other similar factories in its fleet to ensure they were safe, while acknowledging community concerns.

The City of Hayward is seeking compensation for the damages and would like better coordination with Calpine in the future.

City Manager Kelly McAdoo said Calpine will now include the city in annual meetings to discuss operations and changes, as well as inform the fire department of regular emergency drills.

Regulators stressed the need for transparency and their intention to focus on the operations that set the stage for the explosion and fire to occur.

Brooks Jarosz is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @BrooksKTVU

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