Squirrel puts out the lights in Richmond
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - A squirrel that caused a short circuit in an electrical substation left a large section of downtown Richmond, Va., without power for several hours.
Dominion Virginia Power said 6,000 customers were without electricity for a time October 31, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. The outage began just before 9 a.m. and everyone had the lights back on by early afternoon.
"Squirrels are very active in preparing for winter, and it occasionally happens," said Dominion spokesman Karl Neddenien. "We have not yet come up with a squirrel-proof substation."
The squirrel's curiosity killed it.
Some downtown restaurants remained open throughout the outage. They use gas for cooking, and customers and staff coped with the lack of electric light.
Some unfortunates were in elevators when the power went off.
The affected area included the main campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Related News
Inside Copenhagen’s race to be the first carbon-neutral city
COPENHAGEN - “We call it hedonistic sustainability,” says Jacob Simonsen of the decision to put an artificial ski slope on the roof of the £485m Amager Resource Centre (Arc), Copenhagen’s cutting-edge new waste-to-energy power plant. “It’s not just good for the environment, it’s good for life.”
Skiing is just one of the activities that Simonsen, Arc’s chief executive, and Bjarke Ingels, its lead architect, hope will enhance the latest jewel in Copenhagen’s sustainability crown. The incinerator building also incorporates hiking and running trails, a street fitness gym and the world’s highest outdoor climbing wall, an 85-metre “natural mountain” complete with overhangs…
