Rat causes power outage for thousands in Bluffdale

BLUFFDALE, Utah (KUTV) — More than 3,400 Bluffdale customers were without power for about two hours Monday morning after a rat got into a Rocky Mountain Power substation and caused an electrical fault, according to the utility.

Rocky Mountain Power said crews inspected the equipment for damage after the power went out and discovered the rat.

Pest expert Trent Frazer lives in Bluffdale and has experience treating areas for rodents.

“The rat somehow completed a circuit,” Frazer said.

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“Whether that’s through the little rat body, or whether that’s from the rat chewing through the wires, which then, or whether it was through a rat creating a nest and the nesting material completed the circuit, which blew the breaker section.”

When asked how common something like this is, Rocky Mountain Power spokesman Jona Whitesides told 2News the utility uses a variety of measures to reduce the risk, but it is not possible to completely eliminate wildlife interactions with electrical equipment in substations, on poles or along electrical lines.

“At a citywide scale, very uncommon,” Frazer said. “At a residential scale or at the scale of a car, far more common.”

Frazer said he sees rats more commonly in big cities and deals more often with mice and voles in the suburbs.

The most prominent species of rat in Utah is the Norway rat, Frazer said. He said they are more prominent in downtown Salt Lake City.

Even so, Rocky Mountain Power said its protection systems operated as designed in this instance, automatically opening circuit breakers to isolate the fault and protect the rest of the electrical system.

“I was very impressed with how they responded,” Frazer said.

Rocky Mountain Power said incidents like this are more common with birds or squirrels.

Frazer said steps can be taken to keep animals out, but rats and other pests still get in. He said he was glad power was restored so quickly.

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