I’m going to call power outages inconvenient, because the tenants of writing for a website that’s accessible by people of all ages include not using more...powerful words. We’re quite lucky in Winnipeg; we don’t face some of the more catastrophic weather events that tend to lead to wide scale power outages. Our infrastructure is relatively safe and stable. There’s not a lot of tornados, no earthquakes, no tsunamis or hurricanes. We can get blizzards and floods, but we’re so used to those that we’ve developed infrastructure to mitigate their worst effects. Power does still go out, of course,  and when it does it can be for some pretty Manitoban reasons.

Upgrades are one of the major reasons the power will go out. As one colourful lightning bug once told me, “You gotta play it safe around electricity”, so the power goes out in areas where power lines are being worked on. Manitoba Hydro might upgrade old infrastructure, trim trees that have been downing power lines, or install animal guards to keep away wildlife that might cause outages. New technologies are always coming out, and the grid is getting smarter, so upgrades will remain a constant; fortunately, citizens who will be affected by planned outages are always alerted before they occur.

There are a number of common unplanned outages that might occur, and the astute reader has probably picked up on some of them from the last paragraph. Animals landing on or chewing through wires can cause outages, which is why animal guards are becoming more common on key lines. The most common unplanned outages are caused by bad weather, namely high winds, snow and lightning. Pole fires are another common cause of outage; they usually occur in the spring. Salt used to de-ice builds up on insulators, and high humidity in the spring combines with that salt to create a short circuit, which causes the pole to catch fire.

Downed power lines occur more frequently than you might think, and of course they cause outages. You want to stay far away from downed lines, as they may still be charged; that means you’ll also want to stay away from any bodies of water near the downed lines, or any trees near them. Lines may infrequently fall as a result of galloping, which is a strange phenomenon somewhat unique to cold climates. The physics of galloping lines is strange and complex, but the short of it is this: ice will build up on one end of the line, then high winds will cause the power lines to begin to “jump” or “gallop” up and down, which may cause them to snap. Galloping is common enough that power lines have been designed to resist its effects, but it can still cause short-circuits when the line comes in contact with metal.

When there’s a power outage in your home, it’s worth checking whether or not it’s been reported to Manitoba Hydro already; you can check their website to see confirmed and planned outages. When the power is just out for you, see if you can find the source that caused the outage; if you can’t, or feel unsure about how to go about it, top-rated electricians can help get you back online.

You’re sitting at home, enjoying a movie on Netflix with your partner - all of the sudden everything goes black. You check the breaker, but everything seems okay; you look out into the street and notice the streetlights are off. You get on your cell phone, which you’ve thankfully charged, and check the status of the grid with your electric company, and you see that there is an unexpected blackout in your area. Too bad - you were just getting to the good part of the movie! You’re a bit bored now, so you start to wonder; what caused that blackout?

Well, it could have been a lot of things! More often than not, it’s those cheeky anarchists we call squirrels. Squirrels and other electrical pests are the cause of 10-20% of all power outages; they tunnel and chew through wires, causing temporary blackouts. These events happen frequently, but are generally low impact; thankfully, squirrels have not yet learned to chew through nuclear power generators. Let’s hope they don’t catch on anytime soon.

Power outages can be caused by other natural events; storms, rain, wind and other weather is often the culprit for your outage. This may grow more problematic as time goes on, because climate change has increased the likeliness of severe weather events; the more serious the event, the more likely major damage to the grid will occur. The more impaired the grid becomes, the harder it is to repair, and with electricity, every moment counts, as not having power can be life-threatening.

Human error is another culprit for power failure. You might crash into a pole, causing an outage; much like a squirrel, the damage you do in this scenario should be easy enough to repair. Where human error becomes more dangerous is during the installation and operation of electrical systems; you need a team of qualified electricians and engineers operating and monitoring the grid to ensure a constant supply of power. In Montreal, someone cut the wrong cable at a power station, causing an outage for a quarter million people.

To err is human; sadly, to intentionally cause damage and loss of life is also human. There is a threat to the power grid which we hope is never the cause of your blackout; intentional attacks on the power grid. Some theorize that terrorists and rogue nations may attempt to use massive electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) to shut down the entire North American power grid. There are safeguards against this; well-protected systems resistant to EMPs and redundancies to allow the system to divert power appropriately when some systems have been attacked. Nevertheless, infrastructure is always a prime target for those who would want to attack a nation.

As you’re thinking about all of this, fingers crossed, hoping North Korea hasn’t trained squirrels to conduct coordinated attacks on the grid, your TV flickers back on. The popcorn you had in the microwave is probably ruined, but you have plenty more; you were barely inconvenienced by the outage. Thank goodness for the prompt response from your utility; you sit down and enjoy the rest of the film. It’s electrifying.