A hungry squirrel was blamed for a power outage Tuesday that left more than 10,000 Naperville residents without electricity during the morning rush hour.
According to Naperville Public Works Director Allan Poole, a squirrel ate through a high-voltage cable near the Chicago Avenue substation at about 7:30 a.m., turning the lights off for 6,749 customers for 38 minutes.
The problem also apparently triggered a secondary equipment failure at two substations on 75th Street, interrupting service for another 3,747 customers for 62 minutes, Poole said.
“It came during the morning rush hour, so it caused a severe inconvenience to people,” Poole said.
The body of the electrocuted squirrel was found near the frayed cable, Poole said.
Tuesday’s outage was the second squirrel-related utility problem in the city in recent months. Last year, the lights went out briefly when a nest of squirrels took up residence in a conduit at the Chicago Avenue substation. That problem, Poole said, was solved, “but obviously there’s a vulnerability we have to figure out how to solve.”