Squirrel causes power outage to 900 Cape Girardeau customers

Roughly 900 Cape Girardeau customers were without power for more than an hour Saturday afternoon after a squirrel interrupted a transformer, Ameren Missouri said.

The blackout occurred at 1:28 p.m., affecting at least 16 percent of customers in the 63703 zip code, which encompasses the southern and western portions of Cape Girardeau.

Power was nearly all restored by 2:40 p.m., according to Ameren’s online outage map.

Ameren Missouri spokeswoman Lisa Manzo said animal-triggered outages are not out of the ordinary.

She said the system is supposed to cut power when animals disrupt it by seeking warmth or trying to eat equipment.

At 2:15 p.m., the Schnucks grocery on Kingshighway still was operating on backup generators.

“It’s limited power, but we’re still open and functioning,” said manager Steve Halter. Perishable items, however, were not accessible, he said.