The Five Worst Substation Outages Of 2014

YORK, Pa. - Jan. 19, 2015 - PRLog -- Squirrels, raccoons, snakes ...  How do such small animals continue to cause such huge (and costly) outages at substations, year in and year out?

For the most part, it’s a lack of prevention. TransGard Systems (http://www.transgardfence.com/), which has installed patented animal-prevention fencing at more than 2,500 substations, tracks outages across North America — outages that affect hundreds of thousands of customers and cost millions in repairs, man-hours, and lost business

Each year, TransGard names the Five Worst Substation Outages caused by climbing animals.

For 2014, the list includes dangerous, expensive, inconvenient outages from all over the U.S. — outages that could have been prevented:

1.       Raccoon shuts down train service   A substation outage in Jersey City, N.J., cut power to 12,250 customers and shut down service on the PATH Train. The cause: a raccoon making contact with electrical equipment.

2.       Two outages, two days … one substation   Squirrel outages are no fluke at unprotected stations. In Tampa, two different squirrels shut down the same substation over a 48-hour period in December, leaving the University of South Florida and 7,000 users without power.

3.       Traffic collisions in Alaska    A “small animal” (so burned its carcass could not be identified) caused an outage at an Anchorage substation, leaving 3,400 customers without power. The accident also affected stoplights, leading to “multiple collisions.”

4.       Snakes shut down a city   In late May, nearly every resident in Holton, Kansas, lost power twice in just five days. In each case, the culprit was the same:  a snake incursion into an area substation. During both outages, the entire city of Holton went dark.

5.       College hoops cancelled     A squirrel invading a Tulsa, Oklahoma, substation caused a widespread outage, which left 6,000 customers in the dark and caused Oral Roberts University to reschedule a basketball game.

While squirrels continue to top the list of offenders when it comes to animal-caused outages, snakes, raccoons, possums, and foxes were all responsible for major substation damage in 2014.

These outages represent a small fraction of the outages, many unreported, at U.S. substations.

For information on TransGard Animal Deterrent Systems how they eliminate substation outages caused by climbing animals, including snakes, visit www.transgardfence.com.

About TransGard Systems    TransGard’s patented fencing was developed exclusively to eliminate substation outages caused by climbing animals. Since it was founded in 1990, TransGard fences have been installed at more than 2,500 substations in the U.S. and Canada. For more information or to request a quote, visit www.transgardfence.com.