TransGard, which has installed animal-prevention fencing at more than 2,500 substations in North America, announces an agreement by which United Sales Associates will offer TransGard’s substation fencing to utilities, cooperatives and other energy providers in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Alaska.
TransGard's substation fencing deters climbing animals by delivering a mild electric shock — a humane technique that, according to IEEE, offers the most effective barrier against animal incursion. TransGard prevents outages caused by squirrels, snakes, raccoons and other animals.
“As animal incursions remain a huge problem for substation operators, interest in TransGard continues to grow,” said Bill Reichard, President of TransGard. “Our new partnership with United Sales Associates will intensify our outreach in a region that has been susceptible to substation damage from climbing animals.”
The Pacific Northwest has a history of significant problems with animal-caused outages. In 2015, squirrels caused 560 substation outages in Montana alone. A massive outage in Seattle made TransGard’s Five Worst Outages list for 2016, and the region has already suffered multiple outages in 2017.
