NYSEG: Project will reduce outages caused by animals

By Matt Freeze —

BINGHAMTON — NYSEG announced Tuesday that it will be installing thousands more animal guards across its service area to increase energy reliability after initial success with the program since 2020.

NYSEG officials said the $13.8 million investment for over 18,000 animal guards will help reduce outages by preventing wildlife from gaining access to energized electrical equipment.

“Keeping the power on for customers is one of our top priorities,” said Josh Shail, director of programs and logistics for NYSEG and RG&E. “Unfortunately, wild animals are one of the leading causes of power outages in the state. Animal guards are a cost-effective way to not only strengthen our grid but also protect the lives of critters simply following their natural tendency.”

NYSEG officials said while infrastructure may provide a temporary safe haven for wildlife, animal contacts caused more than 1,400 outages, impacting roughly 82,000 customers in 2020.

These outages represented 8.6% of all NYSEG outages.

Since launching the animal guard program five years ago, outages caused by animals have decreased by approximately 50 percent, NYSEG officials said.

Last year, NYSEG attributed 3.87% of all its outages to animal contact issues.

(Matt Freeze is a senior writer at The Morning Times)