Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
A fire broke out at the Beni Saf seawater desalination plant in the province of Ain-Temouchent, damaging the electricity network and leading to the complete shutdown of the plant. This was indicated in a press release by SPA, Algerian Energy Company, a subsidiary of the Sonatrach oil group responsible for managing this plant.
According to the first results of the investigation, the fire broke out on Tuesday evening following a short circuit in an electrical cell of the station which subsequently spread to three adjacent electrical cells.
This triggered the security systems that shut down the entire station, the same source added. It was also specified that the rapid intervention of the Civil Protection teams of the wilaya made it possible to contain the fire. From the first alert, a crisis unit was formed to restart the operation of the station.
The CEO of AEC went to the scene to monitor and direct the crisis unit directly from the station in order to identify the procedures for decontamination, securing and restoring electricity according to the same source.
Under the direction of the station’s first manager, the intervention teams are continuing at the time of going to press to work flat out to partially restore the station to service while waiting for the start of maintenance work in the coming days.
The company responsible for managing the station has made available “all the material and human resources to work without interruption until the station is operational,” the press release states.
Furthermore, the national gendarmerie has opened an investigation to determine the origins of this fire.
It is worth noting that the Beni Saf seawater desalination plant, located in Ain Timouchent, has a production capacity of 200,000 cubic meters/day.