A wayward snake managed to darken a big chunk of Statesville yesterday afternoon, cutting electricity to roughly 4,500 customers after slithering into a city electrical substation, utility officials said. Crews moved fast and had power restored for most customers in about 90 minutes.
Statesville Public Power reported the outage just before 3 p.m., explaining that “a snake came into contact with equipment at a substation.” That service was restored in about an hour and a half, as reported by WSOC. After the lights were back on, crews inspected the affected equipment to make sure everything was safe and stable.
How the city responded
According to the City of Statesville, Statesville Public Power operates the city’s electric distribution system and maintains tools for reporting outages, along with customer contact lines. Customers can report outages through the utility’s online outage page or by calling the number listed on the site for status updates.
Snakes and the grid
Animal-related equipment faults are a known culprit behind brief, localized outages in the Carolinas. Duke Energy told The News & Observer that snakes caused several large outages in May 2025 that affected thousands of customers. Utilities say snakes often slip into warm or sheltered switchgear and that physical protections can reduce, but not eliminate, the risk.
What customers should do
If your power goes out, the city advises checking the utility outage map and reporting the problem online or by phone, then keeping refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to protect food. For safety guidance and a brief preparedness checklist, residents can review the City of Statesville’s outage-preparedness guidance.
