Articles


A Green Approach to Wildlife Protection
Alaska Electric Light & Power has been updating avian protection plans for more than 20 years and is continuing to make great strides. By Eric Eriksen, Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. Tactical eagle eyes look back at an employee gazing out the window of Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. Scanning the environment for


Edmonton’s Cantega Technologies has common sense solutions
-Edmonton Journal Dec 23, 2010 copyright protected Plastic covers for equipment prevents power outages from animals EDMONTON — Curious crows, acrobatic squirrels and marauding raccoons are the culprits behind a multi-billion-dollar loss to the economy each year. It happens when birds and animals manage to span the gap between live wires and the grounded metal


Animal Mitigation-– An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
-Utility Products January 2012 copyright protected It’s a perfect morning in Connecticut when more than 15,000 homeowners and business lose power. They will be in the dark for several hours while the utility crew identify the cause and repair the damage. In this scenario, it doesn’t take long for the utility to discover the culprit


Growing Application of Protective Devices Aims to Reduce Outages Triggered by Wildlife
-Utility Practice & Experience 2013 copyright protected Midway through a morning this past June, about 7200 customers in Rock Hill, South Carolina suddenly found themselves without power for at least 45 minutes and some much more. According to the municipal utility, a squirrel had managed to get inside a substation near the local school and


Westar Energy installing customized covers at Manhattan substation to help prevent wildlife-related power outages.
-Weststar Energy News Release September, 2013 copyright protected Topeka, Kan., Sept. 23, 2013 — They come unannounced. Some may be looking for shelter; others are looking for a meal. They make their way through fences and mazes of equipment, unaware of the potential danger that exists within an electric substation. When birds, snakes, raccoons, squirrels


Use of Custom-fitted Cover-ups to Reduce Power Outages and Mitigate Avian
– By: Nikki S. Heck, P Biol. and Todd Sutherland, P.Eng. The Cost of Wildlife Caused Outages Wildlife contacts and outages can have significant costs not only to electric utilities but also to the public, customers, and wildlife. A cost-effective solution for mitigating outages is often an easy sell to regulators and customers alike. Such


Animal Mitigation For Electric Utilities Prevent Animal and Bird Caused Outage to Improve Reliability
-Electricity Today – September / October 2014 copyright protected Utilities in North America are under enormous pressure from regulators, customers, and investors to improve reliability performance. Many of the mergers and acquisitions of utilities around North America are being conditioned on how combining two or more companies would improve statistics…read more


Ex-Edmonton Oilers enforcer now a power saver
– Edmonton Journal – November 2014 copyright protected BY JIM MATHESON, EDMONTON JOURNAL NOVEMBER 5, 2014 EDMONTON — Once a power-puncher, former Edmonton Oilers beat cop Bill Huard is now heavily involved with stopping power outages. Huard, 47, works for the award-winning, Edmonton-based company Cantega Technologies, which has devised an environmentally-friendly way to stop downed


Utility Realizes Wildlife Outages can be Prevented
– Utility Products – March 2016 copyright protected Because of the costs, impact on reliability and the public relations nightmare, utilities have made every effort to address this problem with limited success. Using everything from generic, multi-fit and field modified covers to a wide array of fencing options, utilities have desperately been seeking an effective