A Las Vegas family says a mysterious fluid had been leaking from a power transformer box in front of their home for months until they reached out to 13 Action News.
Alfredo Beltran and his mother Maria Beltran say they first noticed the leak in January coming from the aging box in their front yard near Eastern and Owens Avenues.
“It smells like oil, gasoline or something," said Alfredo.
"It has a very chemical smell and it started leaking into the dirt and we didn’t know what was happening," added Alfredo.
The Beltran's say they alerted NV Energy to the problem soon after they discovered the leak.
"I think what is more frustrating is that we would reach out to them and tell them and they would just say they were getting on it and months pass and nothing was done," said Alfredo.
Pictures provided to Contact 13 show a noticeable oil ring around the box and surrounding soil.
Contact 13 alerted NV Energy and within hours crews arrived at the transformer.
Alfredo says crews worked for 2 hours and had to shut off the power to several homes. Alfredo snapped pictures and video of the work.
Alfredo says he noticed the components inside the box were covered in the fluid.
An NV Energy spokesperson says crews determined mineral oil was leaking from the transformer and needed to replace the box. The spokesperson adds NV Energy has a maintenance schedule and performs repairs as needed.
According to online research, mineral oil is an excellent fluid for keeping electrical components from overheating.
An NV Energy spokesperson says people should avoid eletrical equipment as a general safety rule and adds apparent malfunctions should be reported to NV Energy as soon as possible.
