Zapped rat causes Stockholm power outage

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - The electrocution of a fat rat in an electric station April 6 caused a three-hour power outage in Stockholm's central train station, halting elevators and escalators.

The early morning outage led to some delays in train traffic, said Jesper Ekenlund, a spokesman for power company Fortum. Nearby hotels and shops also were affected, he said.

"The rat had sneaked into a secondary substation and came into contact with some parts that caused it to short circuit," he said.

"It must have been really big because there's a certain distance between the parts it touched."

Ekenlund said Fortum will now have to decontaminate the area where the rat met its fate.

Related News

china electric bus

Why electric buses haven't taken over the world—yet

LONDON - In lots of ways, the electric bus feels like a technology whose time has come. Transportation is responsible for about a quarter of global emissions, and those emissions are growing faster than in any other sector. While buses are just a small slice of the worldwide vehicle fleet, they have an outsize effect on the environment. That’s partly because they’re so dirty—one Bogotá bus fleet made up just 5 percent of the city’s total vehicles, but a quarter of its CO2, 40 percent of nitrogen oxide, and more than half of all its particulate matter vehicle emissions. And…

READ MORE
texas snow storm

"It's freakishly cold": Deep freeze slams American energy sector

READ MORE

texas grid improvements

5 ways Texas can improve electricity reliability and save our economy

READ MORE

Over 30% of Global Electricity from Renewables

Over 30% of Global Electricity from Renewables

READ MORE

Site C Dam

OPINION | Bridging the electricity gap between Alberta and B.C. makes perfect climate sense

READ MORE