One Snake Manages to Shut Off Power In North Carolina, Leaving 10,000 People in the Dark

Duke Energy, an electric power and natural gas company, is investigating how the snake got into one of its power substations

Thousands of North Carolina residents were left in the dark — all thanks to one snake.

A spokesperson for Duke Energy, which provides electric utilities to customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and other states, told local outlets WBTV, WSOC-TV, and CBS17 that a power outage occurred on Monday, May 5, due to a black snake that came into contact with equipment at a substation.

The outage began around 11 p.m., when the serpent came in contact with equipment in a Durham, North Carolina, substation. According to the outlets, the outage lasted about three hours, and power was restored around 1:30 a.m.

Nearly 10,000 people were affected, including Immanuel Holland, who told CBS 17  that he had “woke up in the pitch dark” and noticed the light come “back on” at around 1:30 a.m.

The spokesperson noted to WBTV that the company was investigating how the snake got into the Durham substation, as the facility had protective fencing to prevent animals from getting in.

“We have been making grid improvements across our system to increase physical and cyber protections around essential equipment,” the spokesperson told the outlet.

“These improvements include physical protections to keep squirrels, snakes, and other animals out of substations and other equipment, and to keep power reliable for the communities we serve,” they added.