_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________
Report Information from ProQuest
May 20 2015 10:59
_______________________________________________________________

Document 1 of 1

Squirrels are a terror to power grids 
Author: Smith, Junious, Iii 
ProQuest document link
Abstract: The message stated, "The second highest cause of power outages - estimated to be approximately 7 percent - is caused by animals; mostly squirrels who gain access to substations. [...]Caswell Farms had an outage, and their building is about 200 yards away from the woods. 

Links: Linking Service
Full text: One of the smallest animals around poses one of the largest problems for electric companies. 
Squirrels, typically docile and harmless, are the exact opposite when it comes to their effects to utility companies across the nation - and in Kinston. 
A 2012 statement from electrical giant TE Connectivity shows squirrels are much more than just a nuisance. The message stated, "The second highest cause of power outages - estimated to be approximately 7 percent - is caused by animals; mostly squirrels who gain access to substations. The cost to utility companies for recovering from animal-related outages is estimated to run between $15 million and $18 million per year." 
The statement continues, "But when commercial entities and consumer frustration are taken into consideration, the overall cost of these outages to utility companies can be much higher." 
Kinston Public Services has had plenty of occurrences with the animals, especially recently. There have been four instances so far this month, including two on the 14th, when power was knocked out due to squirrels. 
"Three of the instances were in the northwest Kinston area and one was on the east," KPS Electric Systems Superintendent Randy Croom said. "As few as 10 people and as many as 100 people lost power during those outages because of squirrels. They generally tend to congregate around oak trees with acorns and create larger issues around us." 
As summer fades into fall, KPS Director Rhonda Barwick suspects the activity will be worse in the coming months. 
"I assume the squirrels are active and getting ready for the winter season," Barwick said. "We tend to have more events related to them. We have miles and miles of distribution and transmission lines that are affected by animals, weather and birds. In some years, we'll see more damage than others, but it's what we have to deal with. As a utility company, we're going to have environmental issues." 
KPS is working on methods to combat the problem; one of the main solutions comes from trimming trees around power lines and telephone poles. 
"Squirrels tend to jump from tree to tree and hit lines or poles," Croom said. "The further away we keep limbs, the better we can limit the outage process. We can make them think about what they're doing instead of just jumping all over the place." 
Although actions have been taken to make it harder for animals to affect power lines, plans are never fool-proof. 
"There's no one place that a squirrel won't go," Croom said. "In fact, Caswell Farms had an outage, and their building is about 200 yards away from the woods. We expected something other than a squirrel the entire time. 
"It's so sporadic and hard to pinpoint when the squirrels will cause the outages. They're all over the spectrum." 
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII. 
Credit: Junious Smith III 

Subject: Blackouts; Electric utilities; Public utilities; Animals; Rodents; 
Publication title: Free Press / Jones Post
Publication year: 2013
Publication date: Aug 22, 2013
Year: 2013
Section: News
Publisher: Halifax Media Group
Place of publication: Kinston, NC
Country of publication: United States
Publication subject: General Interest Periodicals--United States
Source type: Newspapers
Language of publication: English
Document type: News
ProQuest document ID: 1467771582
Document URL: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1467771582?accountid=14872
Copyright: Copyright Halifax Media Group Aug 22, 2013
Last updated: 2013-12-13
Database: ProQuest Central
_______________________________________________________________
 
Contact ProQuest
Copyright Ó 2015 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. - Terms and Conditions