Squirrel Causes Outages to 1,200 Pepco Customers

Update, June 6, 10:36a.m.: In response to a question about the status of the squirrel, Pepco spokesman Andre Francis confirmed, "The squirrel is not with us anymore."

The creature caused power outages in Bethesda after coming into contact with substation equipment. Squirrels are typically electrocuted under the circumstances, Francis said. "I've never seen a squirrel make it though," he said.

Update, 4:15 p.m.: Power is restored in Bethesda after a squirrel caused outages to about 1,200 Pepco customers in the area.

Power outages occurred in Bethesda from about 11:38 a.m. to approximately 12:18 p.m. on Sunday because a squirrel came in contact with substation equipment, Pepco's Manager of Media Relations Bob Hainey said in an e-mail.

Original story: Many Bethesda residents are without power on Sunday while Pepco works to repair a feeder circuit that was tripped causing outages in the area, according to a story on NBC Washington’s website.

While Pepco crews are working to respond to the outages, it is not yet known how many customers are without power or when power will be restored, according to the story.

One of the area’s Giant grocery store chains lost power for about an hour and is now using a back-up generator, according to the NBC story.

The Pepco outage map is not reporting any outages in the area. Calls to Pepco Media Relations were not immediately returned.