WASHINGTON, La. (NEWS 15) — A bizarre incident was responsible for a power outage on Monday, January 13, that impacted nearly 3,000 SLEMCO customers in St. Landry Parish.
The utility company said a small animal got into a transformer at its Grand Prairie substation.
A SLEMCO spokeswoman added it was determined a bird caused the outage but it remains unknown what species because almost nothing was left of the animal. This is a seasonal issue many utilities face.
“In the summertime, it's not common at all but in the wintertime, we've had everything from snakes to squirrels to, in some other places in the country have even had bigger animals like bobcats and stuff like that,” said Mary Laurent with SLEMCO. “And what happens is they're looking for warmth. So, will climb the fence and actually get into the substation, and when they feel the warmth in that area, they'll get close to it and actually become electrocuted.”
SLEMCO noted the power outage lasted about an hour and a half.
