NEVADA – NV Energy has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $45 million in damages against a French bushings manufacturer, blaming the company for equipment failures that caused multiple catastrophic explosions at electric substations and power plants throughout the state over the last nine years.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court on July 18, alleges that Trench-France and Trench-Canada negligently produced and made “material misrepresentations” about the capacity of their bushings, reports The Nevada Independent.
Failure of the bushings, allegedly caused by manufacturing errors and extreme heat, were blamed for causing at least six explosions and fires at NV Energy substations and power plants between 2011 and 2017, costing millions of dollars in damages and requiring replacement of all Trench-manufactured bushings at a cost of $35.8 million.
NV Energy states in the lawsuit that it expects to replace all bushings before the summer of 2020.
A similar case was filed by the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District in Arizona against Trench in 2017, over alleged failures of bushing systems that caused roughly three explosions and fires between 2008 and 2011. The case was dismissed after both sides reached a confidential settlement.
Source: The Nevada Independent