Squirrel Electrocution Causes Power Outage, Explosions at Kaohsiung Steel Plants

An explosion and bright flash startled residents and drivers in Kaohsiung's Xiaogang District on Tuesday morning. The incident, which occurred around 7:22 AM, was initially reported as a potential explosion, but authorities later determined it was caused by a power outage.

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Living in Xiaogang is really scary, it might explode at any time.

The outage led to temporary power loss at two major steel facilities: Han Tai Steel Company and Dong He Steel Company's Kaohsiung plant. Power was restored to these plants within minutes, at 7:23 AM. Fortunately, Xie Sheng Fa Steel Company, which has a dual power supply, was not affected.

An investigation by Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) revealed that the cause of the outage was a squirrel electrocution on a 69-kilovolt transmission line. The squirrel's body was found on the scene, indicating it had caused a short circuit, leading to the line's protective relay to trip and trigger the outage.

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No wonder I heard a loud bang early in the morning.

Taipower expressed apologies for the public concern caused by the incident and thanked the public for their timely reports, which helped in the swift identification of the cause. The incident highlights the vulnerability of power infrastructure to wildlife interference.

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We deeply apologize for the public concern caused by this squirrel activity on the transmission lines causing a trip, and thank the public for the first-time report, allowing us to discover the cause of the accident earlier!