JCP&L: Squirrel causes power outage in Monmouth County for 2nd time in as many months

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About 13,000 customers were left in the dark on Thursday in Monmouth County all because of a squirrel. The animal somehow came in contact with equipment at a JCP&L substation, according to the company. Customers in both Howell Township and Freehold were impacted. The First Energy company said they knew it was a squirrel because they found its remains. They say the squirrel left a blown insulator and a damaged disc, leaving thousands in the dark. The power went out on Thursday around 9:30 a.m. and all customers had their power restored by 1:30 p.m. This is the second time this has happened in this area. Back in August, a different squirrel caused 11,000 customers to go without power. "It happens all across the country. Squirrels especially are very nimble so they can evade animal guards that are put up there to protect equipment, they can chew through insulation, they can fit through the tiniest of openings to be able to get into equipment,” said Chris Hoenig, senior communications representative for First Energy Corp. Hoenig said there's not much they can do but they have been working on upgrading some of the circuits in that area. He also said that they plan to install additional animal guarding at the substation. "