Squirrel Is Cause Of Wildwood, New Jersey’s Latest Power Outage

Squirrels are impressive creatures who adapt to their surroundings and often outwit other animals to make sure their food is not stolen.  But did you know Squirrels can also cause power outages?

Up to 30 Atlantic City Electric Customers in Wildwood lost power for over an hour on Monday, December 4th when a Squirrel happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  According to AC Electric Spokesperson Candace Womer, a transformer located at the intersection of Pacific and Spicer Avenues was in the path of a Squirrel's travels which led to the power outage.

The popular South Jersey Shore Town suffered through three major power outages this Summer so you can imagine how frustrated those Wildwood residents were feeling when they lost power in the middle of the morning.  Atlantic City Electric confirmed that the incident with the Squirrel and the Transformer was an isolated incident that is not related to the infrastructure improvements made after the turbulent summer in Wildwood.

Squirrels are infamous for causing power outages, as far back as 1987 when a power outage shut down the Nasdaq Stock Exchange for 82 minutes, and an estimated 20 million shares could not be traded.  The electrical service company Unitil estimates that Squirrels account for at least 8.5% of power outages each year.

In 2018, a squirrel caused 2,296 customers to lose power in Hackettstown, New Jersey on a Sunday afternoon.  In 2012, a squirrel's exploration of an Atlantic City Electric Substation took out the power for 5,500 customers in Millville, New Jersey on a Saturday Evening in July.

So the next time you see a squirrel running around, remember that they may be small animals but Squirrels can also be indirectly responsible for a big power outage.