Snake Causes Power Outage for 10,000 Customers in North Carolina

Nearly 10,000 residents in Durham, North Carolina, lost power late Monday night after a black snake slithered into a Duke Energy substation and made contact with electrical equipment. The outage began around 11 p.m. and lasted several hours, with power restored by early Tuesday morning. Duke Energy representatives stated the substation was equipped with protective fencing designed to deter animals, but the incident is under investigation. Despite ongoing improvements to prevent animal intrusions, such outages still occur, with snakes historically causing multiple disruptions annually across the company's service areas. Local residents expressed sympathy for the snake, which was presumably unharmed. Duke Energy emphasized its commitment to further strengthening both physical and cyber protections to enhance grid reliability.