Town Notice: Recent increase in power outages and blinks

The Town of Front Royal Energy Services Department has received several questions and complaints regarding power outages and blinks. Recently we have seen an increase in power outages related to wildlife – primarily squirrels.

Be assured that wildlife protection equipment has been installed across our system – however, they continue to find their way onto our energized equipment – causing outages and electric reliability issues. Although we believe this increase to be mostly seasonal, we continue to work tirelessly to restore power as quickly and safely as possible and to find creative preventative solutions.

The American Public Power Association, which represents municipal electric utilities, and to whom the town reports all power outages using the eReliability Tracker Tool, says that squirrels are the number one cause of power outages nationwide.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this causes to our citizens – and, of course, our condolences to the squirrels.

If you have questions, please call the Department of Energy Services Monday – Friday, 7:00 am – 3:30 pm at (540)635-3027