A snake caused an unusual power outage in Virginia after slithering into a critical piece of equipment at an electrical substation, leaving thousands of residents without electricity.
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The incident affected approximately 6,500 Dominion Energy customers across the Shenandoah Valley shortly after midnight on July 1.
According to the utility company, the snake came into contact with important equipment, triggering an automatic safety shutdown designed to protect the electrical system.
Snake Triggers Power Outage for Thousands
Dominion Energy said its protective systems worked as intended, limiting the damage and allowing crews to restore power roughly two hours after the outage began.
Company spokesperson Craig Carper explained that the snake's contact with the equipment activated safeguards that prevented a much larger disruption.
"Snakes, squirrels, birds...some of our wildlife friends don't know what they're getting into and sometimes it can cause problems for them and for us," he said. "The safety system prevented more serious damage."
The company said customers were without electricity for approximately two hours and 15 minutes before service was fully restored.
Although the outage inconvenienced thousands of people, officials said the quick response and built-in protections helped keep the disruption to a minimum.
Wildlife Continues to Cause Unusual Power Problems
Dominion Energy described the damage to the substation as minor, crediting the automatic shutdown system with preventing more extensive damage to the electrical grid.
The incident is far from unique.
In 2024, another snake entered a high-voltage section of a Dominion Energy substation in Newport News. It temporarily cut power to more than 11,000 customers before crews restored electricity.
Utility companies can install protective barriers and devices to reduce the chances of wildlife entering substations. Officials do say that it is impossible to completely prevent curious animals from finding their way inside.
Despite occasional wildlife-related incidents, widespread outages remain relatively uncommon across Dominion Energy's service area.
According to the United States Power Outage Map, around 5,000 of more than four million customers are currently without power.
Of those, roughly 2,000 outages were concentrated in Prince William County, with just under 1,000 reported in Fairfax County.
