On February 24, 2023, Lodi Utilities experienced an electrical outage that impacted customers on Mill, Lodi, First, Hill, and Prairie Streets. The outage was a result of a squirrel who made contact with an energized conductor at Hill Street.
Squirrels are the number one cause of power outages in this area of the country. Therefore, we take proactive steps to ensure that squirrels cannot access dangerous utility equipment. However, this sneaky squirrel bypassed our protective equipment. You can learn more about the impact that squirrels have on electrical distribution systems here.
We are so thankful for our local utility crew, who was able to get the power safely reenergized in approximately 15 minutes.
We apologize for the inconvenience and stress that this outage may have caused you, our customers. Unfortunately, even with extensive protective measures in place, occasional power outages are inevitable. It is at times like these when we are very thankful for our locally owned, public power utility. Thanks to our local line crew, who live in our community and know the system well, outages in our service territory are rare and comparatively short. Thank you again to our lineworkers!
For information on how to prepare for power outages, disasters, and emergencies, visit ready.gov.
