WATERLOO REGION — Wednesday was Squirrel Appreciation Day.

Yes, it's a thing. Although for what it's worth, Jan. 21 is also apparently National Hugging Day and National Granola Bar Day, at least in the United States, where most of these "days" seem to have originated.

Anyway, the local hydro utilities in Waterloo Region are showing their appreciation for squirrels by doing their best to keep them from an untimely electrical demise. Because when a squirrel touches something it shouldn't, nobody wins.

"It is a major cause of outages for us," said Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro president Jerry Van Ooteghem.

When an animal (birds, chipmunks and raccoons are among the offenders, although squirrels cause the majority of the problems) touches both live and grounded equipment, it completes a circuit.

"There aren't any squirrels that survive that," Van Ooteghem said.

The deaths can be marked by a momentary flicker in the power supply, or a sustained outage requiring hands-on repairs. Those outages can be costly to the utilities and inconvenient to customers.

Waterloo North Hydro estimates that about 35 sustained outages are caused by squirrels each year. Cambridge and North Dumfries Hydro estimated that about 18 of 149 unplanned outages or interruptions from January to November last year were squirrel-related, communications manager Allison Cann said.

In recent years, the three local utilities have been installing equipment and special devices aimed at preventing animals from frying themselves and the infrastructure.

"Protection devices help prevent our furry friends from contacting power lines and causing power outages," Cambridge and North Dumfries Hydro tweeted Wednesday in marking Squirrel Appreciation Day.

One of the tools utilities employ is a tube that spins when stepped on. "It's basically a magic ejection seat for the squirrel," said Jeff Quint, manager of conservation and communications for Waterloo North Hydro.

Other types of guards, insulators and barriers also prevent animals from going out in a blaze of glory.

The measures appear to be working. Squirrel-caused outages at Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro have dropped from 147 in 2010 to 97 last year, for example.

New construction typically includes animal guards, especially in treed areas. The utilities also retrofit existing equipment, especially where problems have been experienced.

Tree-trimming operations near power lines benefit in two ways: by preventing branches from contacting the lines, and by reducing the opportunities for squirrels to hop aboard.

"It's something that we continue to be proactive on," Quint said.

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