Squirrel-caused equipment failures knock out power at Colorado substation twice in two days

A substation operated by CORE Electric Cooperative near Ridge Road in Castle Rock, Colorado, experienced two separate wildlife-related outages on consecutive days. On the first day, a squirrel caused an explosion at the substation that knocked out power to more than 4,000 customers. The following day, another squirrel damaged distribution equipment at the same substation, causing a further 40-minute outage affecting about 1,300 customers. In both cases, utility personnel quickly identified and repaired the faults to restore service. The cooperative stated that wildlife, mainly birds and rodents, causes an estimated 5 to 10 percent of outages on its system each year. The utility said its system is designed to allow switching of load to other areas to speed restoration while repairs are made.

Wildlife intrusion by squirrels causing equipment damage and short circuits at an exposed substation location; the cooperative noted it cannot fully enclose every piece of substation equipment.

1. Substations remain vulnerable to wildlife intrusion despite protective measures, and repeat incidents at the same site can occur in quick succession.
2. Designing distribution networks with load-switching capability allows faster restoration of power during equipment faults without waiting for full repairs.
3. Utilities should balance wildlife protection programmes, such as avian protection standards, with practical equipment hardening to reduce recurring outage risk.

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