Why AEP Ohio is reporting fewer power outages this year

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- AEP Ohio reports power outages caused by animals have been cut nearly in half since last year.

In June 2024, the company reported more than 1,100 outages caused by animals; this June, that number was 586.

“In the last year especially, we've had a hard focus on how to prevent outages for customers,” AEP Ohio Columbus Operations Manager Dylan Brown said.

He credited this success to its animal mitigation system. In the last year, Davis said that AEP Ohio has invested more than $158 million into preventative measures for outages, including upgrading animal mitigation efforts. The most noticeable piece of equipment is black pole wrap.

“This is something you see on a lot of our poles," he said. "We install this to keep the animal from coming in at the base of the pole, up the pole and contacting our energized equipment, causing an outage."

AEP Ohio also installs spinners on its power lines.

“The squirrel or the raccoon would jump over this, trying to run down the line, and this spins it off,” he said.

Brown said they also install bushing covers, which keep animals from touching any energized sources.

“This is to protect the animal, too," Davis said. "You know, we're trying to prevent an outage. It's never easy to have an outage. Nobody wants to experience that. There's nothing nutritious about our equipment, our lines, anything. They're getting into our stuff, and then, at the end of the day, if they cause an outage, most likely the animal doesn't make it.”

Brown said AEP Ohio is still working to get the measures installed across Ohio. He said every time AEP workers respond to an outage, if the electrical pole doesn’t already have these deterrents, they will install them.