Several outages in Madison and surrounding suburbs that left thousands without power Friday night were caused by a raccoon getting into a substation in Verona, according to Alliant Energy.
The raccoon was able to get into the substation near the intersection of McKee Road and South Pleasant View Road, causing the outages that left some 11,500 customers without power from about 9:30 p.m. to shortly before midnight, Alliant Energy spokesperson Cindy Tomlinson said.
“It’s really their natural habitat, so as much as we create an area that protects our service equipment and everything, we all know that animals have an ability to get to where they want,” Tomlinson said.
The loss of power affected parts of southwest Madison, Middleton, Verona and Fitchburg. Most power was restored by about 11:40 p.m. Friday.
Bruce Richards, director of facilities and engineering at Verona-based Epic Systems, said Alliant Energy was able to restore the company’s power by about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, but Epic’s uninterruptable power supply (UPS) and generators were able to keep systems afloat. Epic’s generators restored power throughout the company’s campus in about two minutes.
Photos: Explosion and fire in Downtown Madison leaves thousands without power
Explosion and fire in Downtown Madison
Explosion and fire Downtown
Firefighters battle blaze and explosion Downtown
Explosion and fire Downtown leaves thousands without power
Explosion and fire Downtown leaves thousands without power
Explosion, fire in Downtown Madison
Explosion and fire in Downtown Madison
Explosion and fire Downtown leaves thousands without power
Explosion and fire Downtown leaves thousands without power
Explosion and fire Downtown leaves thousands without power
Explosion and fire Downtown leaves thousands without power
Explosion and fire Downtown leaves thousands without power
Explosion and fire Downtown leaves thousands without power