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Portions of the University of Maine campus were without power on the morning of Nov. 15 after a substation transformer at the Steam Plant belonging to the Bangor Hydro Electric Company experienced an electrical failure.
University spokesman Joe Carr explained that the western half of the campus, which borders the Stillwater River and Steam Plant lot, was without power and heat. Buildings from York Hall on the south side of campus to Aubert Hall on the mall were affected. Carr said that the eastern section of campus, including the Hilltop residential halls, Stevens Hall and the Keyo Building where his office is located, was not affected.
According to Bangor Hydro Communication Specialist Bob Potts, a squirrel climbed into the bus work of the transformer, blowing fuses.
“It took a joint effort of the university’s electrical department and Bangor Hydro workers in order to do it safely and fix the issue. They had to take [the station] completely off-line,” he said.
“You hear jokes about it, but it’s actually more common than you may think,” Potts said.
University of Maine Police Department Sergeant Bob Norman said there “wasn’t much left” of the squirrel after the accident.
The accident occurred around 8:15 a.m. and power was restored at about 11:30 a.m. according to Potts, who praised the workers’ responsiveness.
“They were diligent about getting it back online as quickly as possible,” he said. “It was our primary concern not to just get it restored, but to get it restored safely.”
Bangor Daily News