Squirrel behind power outage?

subscribe

A squirrel that crawled into a hydro substation in the downtown core may have caused a power outage at about 11 a.m. September 19.

Toronto Hydro doesn't know if it was the squirrel or a piece of defective equipment that caused a short in the system.

A dead squirrel, apparently electrocuted, was found in the substation at Wellington and John Sts. this morning.

The area west of Yonge St. to Spadina Ave. and from Queen St. south to the lake was affected.

Some businesses and residents lost power and some traffic problems were reported. The power was disrupted for just under two hours.

"Aside from storms, animal contacts do cause a lot of outages," Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller said. "Less in the downtown area," she added. "It's more common on overhead lines in the suburban areas."

Related News

Sub-Saharan-Electricity

Sub-Saharan Africa has a huge electricity problem - but with challenge comes opportunity

PORTO NOVO - Sub-Saharan Africa has an electricity problem. While the world as a whole has made great strides when it comes to providing access to electricity (the world average is now 90 per cent with access, up from 83 per cent in 2010), southern and western African states still lag far behind.

According to Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report, produced by a consortium of organisations including the World Bank, the International Energy Agency and the World Health Organization, 759 million people were without electricity in 2019 and threequarters of them were based in sub-Saharan Africa. At just seven per…

READ MORE
energy storage

'Unlayering' peak demand could accelerate energy storage adoption

READ MORE

paris-finalises-energy-roadmap-for-2025-2035-with-imminent-decree

Paris Finalises Energy Roadmap for 2025–2035 with Imminent Decree

READ MORE

sheerness power plant

Alberta gives $40M to help workers transition from coal power jobs

READ MORE

power pylons

More pylons needed to ensure 'lights stay on' in Scotland, says renewables body

READ MORE