NStar Installs New Transformer Following Back Bay Blackout

Our Newscast unit just reported:

NStar is making progress repairing damage from the transformer fire that caused the blackout in Boston's Back Bay last month.

NStar spokesman Mike Durand says crews have used a crane to bring a new transformer into the substation.

"It was quite an operation; these are massive transformers," he said. "But now we go through the process of connecting it, and bringing it back online as soon as that work is done."

As NStar works to restore the system back to normal, Durand says it's also continuing to investigate the catastrophic failure that caused the fire.

If you'll recall, this was the smoky Back Bay fire:

The subsequent blackout left more than 20,000 customers in the dark, including the Prudential tower, and frustrated downtown businesses.

NSTAR officials have said they'd never seen such a failure in one of the connectors between the underground high-voltage transmission system and the substation.