Crispy critter temporarily outs power for 5K in Hamilton County

[Garrison Hilliard]

CINCINNATI -- About 5,000 Duke Energy customers temporarily lost power
Monday morning and the cause of the outage had very little to do with
the weather.

Instead, a Duke spokesperson said customers in parts of Colerain
Township, Forest Park and Symmes Township in Hamilton County could
blame one crispy critter for the inconvenience.

A squirrel entered a power substation, ostensibly looking for warmth
and shelter, and got zapped, the utility company said.

The rodent’s demise triggered the large outage that hit before noon.

After the noon hour, more than 4,000 customers were still without
power as Duke worked to restore service. Power was returned to each
area before 3 p.m.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/5000-duke-energy-customers-in-hamilton-county-without-power

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ***@netfront.net ---

[RSNorman]

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:37:26 -0500, Garrison Hilliard

Post by Garrison Hilliard
CINCINNATI -- About 5,000 Duke Energy customers temporarily lost power
Monday morning and the cause of the outage had very little to do with
the weather.
Instead, a Duke spokesperson said customers in parts of Colerain
Township, Forest Park and Symmes Township in Hamilton County could
blame one crispy critter for the inconvenience.
A squirrel entered a power substation, ostensibly looking for warmth
and shelter, and got zapped, the utility company said.
The rodent’s demise triggered the large outage that hit before noon.
After the noon hour, more than 4,000 customers were still without
power as Duke worked to restore service. Power was returned to each
area before 3 p.m.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/5000-duke-energy-customers-in-hamilton-county-without-power

Squirrel caused power outages are not rare See "Squirrel power" at
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/opinion/sunday/squirrel-power.html

[Sylvia Else]

Post by RSNorman
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:37:26 -0500, Garrison Hilliard

Post by Garrison Hilliard
CINCINNATI -- About 5,000 Duke Energy customers temporarily lost power
Monday morning and the cause of the outage had very little to do with
the weather.
Instead, a Duke spokesperson said customers in parts of Colerain
Township, Forest Park and Symmes Township in Hamilton County could
blame one crispy critter for the inconvenience.
A squirrel entered a power substation, ostensibly looking for warmth
and shelter, and got zapped, the utility company said.
The rodent’s demise triggered the large outage that hit before noon.
After the noon hour, more than 4,000 customers were still without
power as Duke worked to restore service. Power was returned to each
area before 3 p.m.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/5000-duke-energy-customers-in-hamilton-county-without-power

Squirrel caused power outages are not rare See "Squirrel power" at
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/opinion/sunday/squirrel-power.html

Why isn't a power substation squirrel proof? Blaming the squirrel is
just passing the buck.

Sylvia.

[Bob Casanova]

On Tue, 13 Jan 2015 13:46:22 +1100, the following appeared
in sci.skeptic, posted by Sylvia Else
<***@not.at.this.address>:

[Groups trimmed (rec.bicycles?!?)]

Post by Sylvia Else

Post by RSNorman
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:37:26 -0500, Garrison Hilliard

Post by Garrison Hilliard
CINCINNATI -- About 5,000 Duke Energy customers temporarily lost power
Monday morning and the cause of the outage had very little to do with
the weather.
Instead, a Duke spokesperson said customers in parts of Colerain
Township, Forest Park and Symmes Township in Hamilton County could
blame one crispy critter for the inconvenience.
A squirrel entered a power substation, ostensibly looking for warmth
and shelter, and got zapped, the utility company said.
The rodent’s demise triggered the large outage that hit before noon.
After the noon hour, more than 4,000 customers were still without
power as Duke worked to restore service. Power was returned to each
area before 3 p.m.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/5000-duke-energy-customers-in-hamilton-county-without-power

Squirrel caused power outages are not rare See "Squirrel power" at
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/opinion/sunday/squirrel-power.html

Why isn't a power substation squirrel proof? Blaming the squirrel is
just passing the buck.

Power stations *could* be made squirrel-proof, just as banks
could be made robbery-proof and my house could be made
burglar-proof. All it would take would be sufficient money
and appropriate changes in procedures, the costs of which
would probably outweigh the benefits. Of course YMMV, but
IMHO "good" is a helluva lot more practical than "perfect".

And FWIW, I doubt anyone is "blaming" the squirrel in the
sense of blaming the members of ISIS for their acts;
squirrels aren't morally (or legally) culpable; it's a
comment on causation only.

[Sylvia Else]

Post by Bob Casanova
On Tue, 13 Jan 2015 13:46:22 +1100, the following appeared
in sci.skeptic, posted by Sylvia Else
[Groups trimmed (rec.bicycles?!?)]

Post by Sylvia Else

Post by RSNorman
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:37:26 -0500, Garrison Hilliard

Post by Garrison Hilliard
CINCINNATI -- About 5,000 Duke Energy customers temporarily lost power
Monday morning and the cause of the outage had very little to do with
the weather.
Instead, a Duke spokesperson said customers in parts of Colerain
Township, Forest Park and Symmes Township in Hamilton County could
blame one crispy critter for the inconvenience.
A squirrel entered a power substation, ostensibly looking for warmth
and shelter, and got zapped, the utility company said.
The rodent’s demise triggered the large outage that hit before noon.
After the noon hour, more than 4,000 customers were still without
power as Duke worked to restore service. Power was returned to each
area before 3 p.m.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/5000-duke-energy-customers-in-hamilton-county-without-power

Squirrel caused power outages are not rare See "Squirrel power" at
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/opinion/sunday/squirrel-power.html

Why isn't a power substation squirrel proof? Blaming the squirrel is
just passing the buck.

Power stations *could* be made squirrel-proof, just as banks
could be made robbery-proof and my house could be made
burglar-proof. All it would take would be sufficient money
and appropriate changes in procedures, the costs of which
would probably outweigh the benefits. Of course YMMV, but
IMHO "good" is a helluva lot more practical than "perfect".

A large part of the cost is externalised, because it's born by the
electricity (non-)consumers, who have to deal with the lack of power. By
contrast, the cost to the supplier is the physical damage to the
equipment, and the profit forgone on the unsupplied power.

If the supplier were required to internalise the entire cost of the
fault, I dare say different decisions would be made when it came to
squirrel proofing the hardware. The cost of that would, of course, be
passed on to the consumers, but I, for one, have never been asked how
much I'm willing to pay for a more reliable power supply.

Sylvia.

[Bob Casanova]

On Wed, 14 Jan 2015 11:22:32 +1100, the following appeared
in sci.skeptic, posted by Sylvia Else

Post by Sylvia Else

Post by Bob Casanova
On Tue, 13 Jan 2015 13:46:22 +1100, the following appeared
in sci.skeptic, posted by Sylvia Else
[Groups trimmed (rec.bicycles?!?)]

Post by Sylvia Else

Post by RSNorman
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:37:26 -0500, Garrison Hilliard

Post by Garrison Hilliard
CINCINNATI -- About 5,000 Duke Energy customers temporarily lost power
Monday morning and the cause of the outage had very little to do with
the weather.
Instead, a Duke spokesperson said customers in parts of Colerain
Township, Forest Park and Symmes Township in Hamilton County could
blame one crispy critter for the inconvenience.
A squirrel entered a power substation, ostensibly looking for warmth
and shelter, and got zapped, the utility company said.
The rodent’s demise triggered the large outage that hit before noon.
After the noon hour, more than 4,000 customers were still without
power as Duke worked to restore service. Power was returned to each
area before 3 p.m.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/5000-duke-energy-customers-in-hamilton-county-without-power

Squirrel caused power outages are not rare See "Squirrel power" at
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/opinion/sunday/squirrel-power.html

Why isn't a power substation squirrel proof? Blaming the squirrel is
just passing the buck.

Power stations *could* be made squirrel-proof, just as banks
could be made robbery-proof and my house could be made
burglar-proof. All it would take would be sufficient money
and appropriate changes in procedures, the costs of which
would probably outweigh the benefits. Of course YMMV, but
IMHO "good" is a helluva lot more practical than "perfect".

A large part of the cost is externalised, because it's born by the
electricity (non-)consumers, who have to deal with the lack of power. By
contrast, the cost to the supplier is the physical damage to the
equipment, and the profit forgone on the unsupplied power.

True.

Post by Sylvia Else
If the supplier were required to internalise the entire cost of the
fault, I dare say different decisions would be made when it came to
squirrel proofing the hardware.

Almost certainly true; all decisions are (or are supposed to
be) based on consideration of the outcomes, and financial
decisions are based on cost/benefit analyses, both monetary
and social.

But just how likely do you think a "squirrel attack" is? If
the fault were such that it couldn't be predicted with any
confidence, should the supplier be allowed to pass on *all*
the costs? As an rather extreme example of such a fault,
should all power stations be meteorite-proof? How about
public transportation? I think you can see this can go
rather far.

Post by Sylvia Else
The cost of that would, of course, be
passed on to the consumers, but I, for one, have never been asked how
much I'm willing to pay for a more reliable power supply.

That's fairly common; I've never been asked how much I'm
willing to pay, for example, for more injury-proof cars, and
have to accept mandated improvements which are essentially
"one size fits all", whether or not I think the scenarios
the various protections are designed to mitigate against are
very likely to affect *me*.

[Sylvia Else]

Post by Bob Casanova
But just how likely do you think a "squirrel attack" is? If
the fault were such that it couldn't be predicted with any
confidence, should the supplier be allowed to pass on *all*
the costs? As an rather extreme example of such a fault,
should all power stations be meteorite-proof? How about
public transportation? I think you can see this can go
rather far.

It may be that the cost of making a substation squirrel proof exceeds
the cost of the event times the probability of the event, and in that
case the correct decision is not to make the substation proof against
squirrels, but to wear the cost should the event occur. I'm really just
saying that the cost used to make the decision should be the true cost,
not just the cost to the supplier. The easiest way of ensuring that is
to make the supplier internalise the costs to the consumers.

Sylvia.

[george152]

Post by Sylvia Else

Post by Bob Casanova
But just how likely do you think a "squirrel attack" is? If
the fault were such that it couldn't be predicted with any
confidence, should the supplier be allowed to pass on *all*
the costs? As an rather extreme example of such a fault,
should all power stations be meteorite-proof? How about
public transportation? I think you can see this can go
rather far.

It may be that the cost of making a substation squirrel proof exceeds
the cost of the event times the probability of the event, and in that
case the correct decision is not to make the substation proof against
squirrels, but to wear the cost should the event occur. I'm really just
saying that the cost used to make the decision should be the true cost,
not just the cost to the supplier. The easiest way of ensuring that is
to make the supplier internalise the costs to the consumers.
Sylvia.

Be easier to have powered up anti squirrel screens surrounding the
delicate bits.
Or defence in depth as we used to call it

[Garrison Hilliard]

Post by Bob Casanova
On Tue, 13 Jan 2015 13:46:22 +1100, the following appeared
in sci.skeptic, posted by Sylvia Else
[Groups trimmed (rec.bicycles?!?)]

Post by RSNorman
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:37:26 -0500, Garrison Hilliard

Post by Garrison Hilliard
CINCINNATI -- About 5,000 Duke Energy customers temporarily lost power
Monday morning and the cause of the outage had very little to do with
the weather.
Instead, a Duke spokesperson said customers in parts of Colerain
Township, Forest Park and Symmes Township in Hamilton County could
blame one crispy critter for the inconvenience.
A squirrel entered a power substation, ostensibly looking for warmth
and shelter, and got zapped, the utility company said.
The rodent’s demise triggered the large outage that hit before noon.

Check out the "killer squirrel" threds in the bicycle groups, Bob.

KNOW YOUR RODENTIAL MARTYRS

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ***@netfront.net ---

[Bob Casanova]

On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 13:17:39 -0500, the following appeared
in sci.skeptic, posted by Garrison Hilliard

Post by Garrison Hilliard

Post by Bob Casanova
On Tue, 13 Jan 2015 13:46:22 +1100, the following appeared
in sci.skeptic, posted by Sylvia Else
[Groups trimmed (rec.bicycles?!?)]

Post by RSNorman
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:37:26 -0500, Garrison Hilliard

Post by Garrison Hilliard
CINCINNATI -- About 5,000 Duke Energy customers temporarily lost power
Monday morning and the cause of the outage had very little to do with
the weather.
Instead, a Duke spokesperson said customers in parts of Colerain
Township, Forest Park and Symmes Township in Hamilton County could
blame one crispy critter for the inconvenience.
A squirrel entered a power substation, ostensibly looking for warmth
and shelter, and got zapped, the utility company said.
The rodent’s demise triggered the large outage that hit before noon.

Check out the "killer squirrel" threds in the bicycle groups, Bob.

I spend too much time on Usenet now, so I'll pass. Sorry if
my trim was inappropriate.

Post by Garrison Hilliard
KNOW YOUR RODENTIAL MARTYRS