Squirrels are cute, fluffy, and intelligent creatures, but did you know they can cause power outages? Yes, you heard it right! Squirrels can play a role in causing power outages, and it is not uncommon. They have a tendency to climb on power lines, transformers, and other electrical equipment, which can lead to short circuits and disrupt the power supply.
There are several ways in which squirrels can cause power outages. They can chew on the insulating material surrounding the wires, exposing the live wires, and creating a short circuit. They can also accidentally touch the live wires while jumping from one piece of equipment to another, which can cause a spark and disrupt the power supply.
In urban areas, squirrels have been known to climb into electrical substations, which can be disastrous. The squirrels can chew on the electrical cables, which can cause a short circuit and disrupt the power supply to entire neighborhoods.
Moreover, squirrels can also damage transformers and other electrical equipment, causing power outages. The transformers can release the oil, which can ignite and cause a fire, which can lead to significant damage to the electrical equipment and cause power outages.
Squirrel leaves thousands without power in Centerville
by: Sarah Bean
Posted: Feb 20, 2023
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Thousands of Centerville residents suddenly found themselves in the dark on Monday after a sudden power outage.
According to The City of Centerville, a squirrel damaged some equipment, causing approximately 5,900 customers to lose power. The outage affected several businesses as well as traffic lights on Main Street and Alex Bell Road. Drivers were asked to treat all intersections as four-way stops until power could be restored.
If you are wondering how often squirrels cause power outages, please read the below news article:
Squirrels: How often do they cause power outages?
By: Brian Reese, Russell Falcon, Nexstar Media Wire
Posted: Sep 10, 2022
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — More than 10,000 residents lost power Wednesday in Virginia Beach after a squirrel got into a substation, according to Dominion Energy. Although power was restored, the squirrel is not believed to have survived after getting into a substation and causing the outage.
While these bushy-tailed tree climbers are cute and relatively harmless, it’s not all that uncommon for them to cause electrical problems.
Entergy, a New Orleans-based energy company operating in the southern U.S., reported 15,000 of the 22,000 animal-related power outages in its Mississippi service area. The company said squirrels are its “undisputed” top animal offender, easily outpacing outages caused by raccoons (over 600 outages) and birds (1,200 outages).
Meanwhile, Unitil, a utility company serving over 107,000 in the northeast U.S., says squirrels cause an average of 8.5% of its outages each year. Unitil says since the animals use power lines for travel, it’s easy for them to inadvertently cause electrical trouble.
“When a squirrel climbs onto an electrical transformer, it may cross the bare wire that leads from the high-voltage line to the transformer,” Unitil said in a May blog. “If it were to simultaneously touch this wire and a part of the transformer with the sufficient electrical ground, an electrical short can cause both a power outage and the electrocution of the animal.”
Outage-by-squirrel are more likely to happen in May, June and October, since Unitil says about 48% of all animal-related outages happen during these months.
Power companies are taking measures to prevent squirrels from causing power outages. They are using animal-deterrent devices, such as bird spikes and squirrel guards, to prevent squirrels from climbing on the electrical equipment. They are also using insulating materials that are less attractive to squirrels and difficult to chew. Relocating squirrels is not an option and the use of deterrent sprays is not effective and not always feasible. So what can be done to handle this issue?
Well, C Tech Corporation, has the perfect solution to overcome the damage caused by these squirrels. RodrepelTM is an anti-rodent and animal aversive repellent that is extremely low in toxicity and extremely low hazard, environmentally safe solution. It is engineered using a unique set of complex compounds. It follows 6 pronged strategies which are extremely effective on rodents like squirrels, rats, beavers, gophers, marmots, etc.
RodrepelTM is available in the form of a masterbatch, liquid concentrate, lacquer, wood polish additives, and sprays.
The masterbatch can be incorporated into cable sheathing thereby making it rodent resistant. The product in the form of liquid concentrate can be diluted in paints and organic solvents and applied to cables. The lacquer which is a topical application that can be directly applied on the already installed wires and cables, cabinets, and transformer boxes. The wood polish additives can be mixed with the wood polish and applied on wooden surfaces.
The liquid concentrate can be sprayed around the areas that show regular squirrel activities. The lacquer as well as the wood polish additive can be applied onto wooden poles where the squirrels keep climbing.
The Rodrepel™ Rodent Repellent Spray is an easy-to-use product that can be sprayed on wires and cables, electronic appliances, and cabinets, so as to avoid rodents from entering them.
RodrepelTM is cost-effective, inert, and thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It is RoHS, RoHS2, RoHS3, REACH, NEA, EU BPR, APVMA compliant, and FIFRA exempted.
It is 100% green, eco-friendly, low in toxicity, non-hazardous, non-carcinogenic, and non-mutagenic.
Contact us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com to know more about using our repellent products against rodent menace.
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