Most Common Causes of Power Outages

While it may seem obvious that storms/weather is the number one cause of power outages, the number two spot might come in as a bit of a surprise.

No, it is not human error or overloading; it is because of squirrels. All year, but especially from May to July, squirrels are the number two reason for power outages in the United States. They make up as much as 11 percent of all power outages every year and up to 30 percent in some areas. Squirrels are even the number one cause of power outage in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

These fluffy-tailed critters can create over 15,000 power outages a year and are only increasing, becoming more and more of a problem. The American Public Power Association even has a tracker on their website related to squirrel caused power outages as it has become that much of a problem.