Homes and businesses across Telford were left without power today after a squirrel shorted out the electricity.
The inquisitive rodent clambered up a pole mounted with a transformer and tripped the power shortly before 6.30am, blacking out 1,800 homes and businesses in the Madeley area.
Jonathan Smith, Eon spokesman, said: “The pole transformer is essentially a mini sub-station and much like domestic electricity supplies it has a trip mechanism.
“The squirrel tripped the power supply and that blacked out 1,800 homes in Madeley and Dawley.”
Mr Smith said all but 44 customers were put back online by 7.10am and power to those 44 was restored by 9am.
He said: “Engineers re-set the trip mechanism to restore the bulk of supplies, but had to carry out repairs to the transformer to get the last 44 customers back online.
“We know it was a squirrel which caused the blackout because it was found at the scene. Sadly, it did not survive the incident.”
The powercut forced staff at Dawley Post Office, in High Street, to reboot their computers, leaving customers waiting for 15 minutes out on the street.
Lisa Dyson, branch manager, said: “The powercut happened sometime before we opened, so we had to reboot all of the computers.
“Customers had to wait about 15 minutes until we opened and all the computers were up and running, but everything is fine now.”
Manjit Kaur, of Mac & Jac’s newsagents, King Street, Dawley, said: “My shop is quite busy at that time, so it was hard because we couldn’t serve anyone. Everything had shut down, such as the tills.”
Mr Smith said the roads affected in Dawley included Bank Road, Willetts Way, Conroy Drive, Southall Road and Ludlow Drive.
He said squirrels shorting out power supplies was not uncommon so a rubber protector for the transformers’ contact points, known as a squirrel boot, was usually fitted.
Squirrels often mistake wooden power poles for trees.
By Simon Hardy
16 Comments
And what happened to the squirrel?
Surely we must cull all squirrels to ensure this doesn’t happen again?
Just what I was about to ask
Not sure about the culling idea as this could lead to all small fury mammals being eradicated - could they not be be forced to go on a government sponsored course and then taxed for the privilage of causing a power cut?
I got a night in the cells and a smacked tail.
Well I think this is all NUTS !!
Ah - but what happened to the squirrel?
I think a cull for these squirrels is a good idea, as it is the grey squirrel thats getting rid of our great red squirrel! all hail a cull
maybe you should all educate yourselves on why Greys are stronger than Reds and not just brand them as vermin and pests, like people do when they believe everything they are told.
It is easy to blame us rodents (including squirrels) for the blackouts.
Please specify proof that it was a squirrel that caused the blackout.
I’m fine just a bit was a bit shocking at first but fine and dandy now.
What is it about Shropshire people? The immediate reaction is to want to kill an animal.
How about designing the transformer so the Squirrel can’t get in? Or will that satisfy the bloodlust?
I personally think there should be a cull of the lesser spotted Peasbodies to ensure no more daft comments on this forum! SOS = save our squirrels
R’t Barrington-Black - take it your not from round here? suprised you found Shropshire
if you ever go on a shoot for game its great fun, culling isn’t aloud of men going out with there shotguns, its more controlled my friend
Craig,
indeed I am from here, just outside Wem, right out in the country, yes I have a 4 wheel drive, horses and have been known to shoot.
I also have the advantage of working in London. Gets me up to town to meet socially aware people, rather than the bigots who inhabit this county.
I find this rather interesting.
IF this transformer “supplies” 1800 homes, then either the transformer “supplies” all 1800,
(i.e its BIG, as that equates to 30-40 Mw of power, assuming 10 - 20Kw MAX load per consumer)
(too big for a squirrel??)
OR,
the high voltage supply to the primary winding of this “particular” transformer was “tripped” by the squirrel straddling one or more of the high voltage input lines ….and ground potential possibly, (i.e tramsformer casing etc) ,thus tripping and removing the high voltage supply to other transformers, thus making up the 1800 homes.
Now, smaller substations generally are fed at 11Kv (11,000 volts, (or higher), and the transformer reduces this to 415V 3phase, for industrial supplies, with each “phase” voltage “relative to neutral” being 240V, which is the “normal” single phase feed to houses.
NOW, IF the squirrel chewed into the 11KV side, then I’m afraid there wouldn’t be much left of him or her, or even its nuts, come to that.
And,
I’m assuming that the Charred body of the said squirrel left a conductive path across the high voltage feed, thus enabling a “leakage current” on power reset, preventing the trips resetting automatically.
So….
Is this story more to do with the job of removing a dead squirrel, …. or manually resetting the trips?
Signed,
electrikery.