Indore: Squirrels And Birds Disrupt Power Supply, Posing Challenges Or Repair Crews

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Can birds or creatures like squirrels also disrupt the power supply? Yes, if discom officials are to be believed. In fact, as per officials such incidents are on the rise in Indore’s city and rural areas during ongoing summer. These disruptions not only inconvenience electricity consumers but also pose challenge to repair staff.

Insulators play a crucial role in power supply system, maintaining its integrity and preventing current from straying beyond poles or wires. Just as humans experience discomfort in extreme heat, birds and other creatures exhibit similar behaviours or lose their balance. During summer squirrels, parrots, pigeons, bats and other animals are susceptible to heat-related issues. Birds perching near insulators can cause faults when they come in contact with the phase.

Similar incidents occur when animals sit near jumpers. Contact with another phase can damage a squirrel's mouth and tail, sometimes leading to its death. Monkeys have also been known to cause faults, occasionally resulting in broken wires or cables due to their weight.

On Tuesday afternoon, at Pardeshipura intersection in Indore city, a squirrel climbed a pole about 35 feet above the ground and reached the disk, causing a fault in 11 KV Nandanagar feeder.

Despite linemen of West Discom searching for the fault on about 40 poles, it remained undetected until someone reported an earlier explosion at the intersection. Upon investigation, it was found that the fault was caused by the squirrel near the disk. The line was restored after removing the squirrel carcass. Faults due to snakes climbing on the Press Complex area grid occurs two to three times a year. In areas like Kila Maidan, Police Line, Polo Ground, Rajendra Nagar and Residency, peacocks flying near power lines often disrupt the supply.

“Many a time transit faults occur due to creatures and birds. When such faults occur, electricity supply is restored shortly. But sometimes large scale faults occur due to mixing of phases. It takes time to find such faults and repair them by going to the grid, poles, transformers etc.”

AmitTomar, MD, West Discom