Overview

• A black snake entered a Duke Energy substation in Durham, NC, on May 5, 2025, causing a power outage that affected nearly 10,000 customers.
• The outage, impacting Durham, Forsyth, and Gaston counties, began at 11 p.m. and lasted approximately three hours, with power restored by 1:30 a.m.
• Duke Energy is investigating how the snake bypassed protective fencing designed to prevent animal intrusions into critical infrastructure.
• The utility company is implementing system-wide upgrades, including enhanced physical protections, to reduce wildlife-related disruptions.
• Animal-related outages, including 100 snake incidents annually in Duke Energy's service area, highlight ongoing challenges in grid reliability across the U.S.