Last Friday, a squirrel induced quite the commotion in East Memphis, inadvertently causing over 10,000 Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) customers to lose power. According to Action News 5, MLGW stated on social media that the furry critter managed to "take out a circuit breaker at one of our substations" leading to the widespread outage. Remarkably, crews were able to restore power to 95% of the affected customers within just 10 minutes of the blackout.
Detailing further about the incident, MLGW mentioned that a resident reported a power surge before the lights went out. In assistance to the utility's efforts, Memphis police were on the scene to aid with traffic control as the disruption also impacted the flow of vehicles. Those brief moments of darkness descended during a week that had seen, as Local Memphis explains, "the trifecta" of outage causes – extreme weather, vehicle accidents against utility equipment, and animal interference.
The Poplar corridor area was particularly hit by the outage, as noted by WREG. The company revealed that exactly 10,519 customers were left in the dark according to the outage map. Yet, the swift recovery underscored MLGW's readiness to tackle sudden power losses, even when caused by the smallest of the city's inhabitants.
MLGW has long educated the public on the primary reasons for power outages, with animal interference ranking amongst the top three factors alongside extreme weather and automobile accidents. The utility underscores its ongoing commitment to service, stating in a Facebook post, "We appreciate everyone's patience as we work and continue to ensure that everyone has power," a reassurance for residents who might find such interruptions more than a minor inconvenience.
