400 kV power substation fire and explosion hazard assessment to prevent a power black-out

400 kV power substations are very important elements of European power systems, which circulate, transform and distribute electricity to consumers or towards other European power systems. Since they are of European strategic importance, due to the fact that they ensure the safety and security of European systems, they are referred to and listed as critical power infrastructures, for this purpose they have to be assessed by point of view energy security risks for to identify and generate instability elements (vulnerabilities, hazards and threats). Knowledge of instability elements automatically lead to the identification of potential sources of hazards and threats to the operation/maintenance staff and to the entire power system, and therefore European measures or strategies can be developed for protecting and securing these critical infrastructures, workplaces and operating/maintenance staff. The results obtained following the explosion and fire risks assessment presented in this paper can contribute to highlighting the need for improving the safety and security of the European Power System.