Lincoln, NE — In the Midwest, squirrels have emerged as a major cause of electrical outages, according to Garrett Klein of the Lincoln Electric System (LES). “They find their way between live conductors and the ground, and they just have a body shape and style that makes them a menace,” said Klein.
The American Public Power Association reports that squirrels are the third leading cause of outages in the region. Klein noted, “Squirrels are LES’s number 4 cause of outages, they account for about 60-100 a year outages.”
While other creatures like snakes, mice, and rodents can also disrupt power by getting into underground equipment, Klein emphasized that “the impact is still quite a bit less than what squirrels do.”…