Wildlife Control and Protection Manual
With snakes in substations, squirrels on transformers, and eagles on transmission lines, animal-caused outages have been a fact of life for electric utilities since the first line was constructed. Results from DSTAR Study Group suggest that animal caused outages are more common and widespread than generally believed. Despite the importance of this problem, there is very little general information available on what methods and products can effectively reduce animal-caused outages.The purpose of this manual is to provide electric utilities with a single source of practical information on recommended practices and polices to reduce animal-caused outages on transmission lines, in substations, on overhead distribution lines, and in underground distribution systems. Every effort has been made to include in this manual the widest possible range of information on the animals most often involved in outages, what deterrents are available and how well they work, and what policies and practices have been used successfully. Installation tips are also provided because improperly installing devices can lead to additional problems.
General Recommendations
Four general recommendations are made consistently throughout this manual. They are the four most effective things all utilities can do to reduce or eliminate animal-caused outages.
- Implement an aggressive right-of-way clearing and tree-trimming program,
- Maintain a regularly scheduled inspection program,
- Become familiar with animals in the area to develop effective, economic solutions,
- Develop standards for animal/bird protection which include designs and material.
The 202-page final report provides practical information on recommended practices and polices to reduce animal-caused outages.
Table of Contents:
This study was conducted in: P10-3