this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2024
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A raccoon was behind the massive power outage that knocked out electricity to some 7,000 customers in downtown Toronto for hours Thursday night.

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[–] cralder@lemmy.world 21 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

A raccoon was behind the massive power outage that knocked out electricity to some 7,000 customers in downtown Toronto for hours Thursday night.

Hydro One said a raccoon “made contact with equipment” at a downtown station, which cut the lights for parts of the city. The raccoon's condition is currently unknown

Fucking gold

[–] linearchaos@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

The raccoon’s condition is currently ~~unknown~~ charcoal and meatspray.

I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it!

No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting

Look, my lad, I know a dead ~~parrot~~ raccoon when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.

No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable ~~bird~~ mamal, the ~~Norwegian Blue~~ Canadian Trash Panda, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!

The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead.

Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!

All right then, if he's restin', I'll wake him up!

[–] ivanafterall@kbin.social 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

What do you expect, equipment that can endure contact from a raccoon!?

[–] atx_aquarian@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Nah, we'll only splurge for that when the equipment serves at least eight thousand customers. Seven thousand is just not enough to justify it.

[–] moody@lemmings.world 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Does anyone else think Avenue Road is a stupid name? Who thought that was a good idea?

[–] Ddub@lemmy.ca 14 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The saying goes that when the Brits were marking out Toronto the surveyor put a stake in the road and said, let's 'ave a new road 'ere

[–] Vathsade@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 years ago

Sigh... Upvote

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

"Hydro One(opens in a new tab) said a raccoon “made contact with equipment” at a downtown station, which cut the lights for parts of the city."

Whoah, whoah, whoah... Raccoon OK?

"The raccoon's condition is currently unknown."

🥺

[–] Cinner@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

The raccoon's condition is currently unknown.

Dry leather with a hint of bone underneath the char.

[–] spujb@lemmy.cafe 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

if a single raccoon can cause this much damage the power company kinda deserves heat for this lol

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You might not realize that a lot of the 4kV equipment they are working with in downtown Toronto is between 40 and 75 years old, and Toronto Hydro only has the budget to slowly replace them.

[–] febra@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

They’re that old everywhere. They’re transformers. They don’t just break like that by themselves. If they work they work.

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 years ago

Typical transformer design lifes are 20 to 40 years because they are in near continuous operation (A random source). With the downtown core increasingly being built up, the utility did put in more capacity but are also relying on the existing aging equipment to take on more load.

Things naturally wear, weather, corrode over time, even things installed underground or in indoor vaults. Raccoon-shaped wires also strain equipment across the network, beyond the immediate failure point. There are other cases of "uniquely Toronto" problems across downtown and the 6 amalgamated boroughs that joined in 1999.

[–] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)


The raccoon in question

[–] gregorum@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago

Scandalously

[–] Trashboat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 years ago

Probably testing some Doofenshmirtz-esque evil invention