THE Bomb Squad and Hazmat were deployed to an electricity substation in Penrith this morning following the discovery of a device with what looked like a detonator attached to it.

Workers at the Kingswood electricity substation on Smith Street found what’s understood to be a petrol bomb with a detonator shortly before 9am.

Police, fire crews and bomb technicians attended and set up an exclusion zone.

A source said the device had been strategically placed — the substation controls power to the electricity grid feeding the general Penrith area, including nearby hospitals.

“If it [the device] goes up it’ll take Penrith Hospital and the private hospital,” an official told The Daily Telegraph.

The bomb is said to be a lunch-box sized container full of a petrol-looking substance and a device similar to a mobile phone attached with wires protruding.

The device has now been removed from the site with police saying they were unable to determine what the object was and confirming it would be subjected to forensic testing.

“The examination has not been able to determine the contents [of the device],” police said.

“They will be removed and forensically examined.”

Streets in the area have now been reopened to traffic.