SNAKE CAUSES POWER OUTAGE
A snake is said to be blamed as some barangays in Laoag City South of the river and other villages in the town of San Nicolas lost their electricity at 10:00 in the morning on September 30, 2020. Others may not believe in this cause but the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) confirmed that a snake triggered an electrical spark as it hung on a secondary line.
“The snake dragged down the line from a pin insulator and made contact with the power line, instantly killing itself and causing a short circuit” Engr. Emimar Domingo, Area 6 Maintenance and Construction Chief, said as he explained the scenario.
He also added that some animals, especially bats and small birds, would usually interrupt power distribution system as they sit on faulty wirings. INEC has also cited unavoidable circumstances such as lizards that go through transformers and cause outage in affected areas.
Because of this unusual cause of power interruption, INEC has been receiving numerous calls and text inquiring about the unscheduled power outage as some students are undergoing distance learning in which online research is needed.
So as not to prolong the brownout, our linemen were quick to respond and fix the damage. They were able to restore electricity after an hour.