Nest-building osprey cuts power

DOVER-FOXCROFT – An osprey building a nest on a utility pole near Manhanock Pond in Sangerville shorted out a transmission line Monday morning that fed power to 2,826 homes and businesses in parts of Dover-Foxcroft, Guilford and Sangerville.

A branch from the nest caused the 9:30 a.m. outage, John Carroll, Central Maine Power Co.’s manager of communications, said Monday. Power was restored shortly after 11 a.m., he said.

“It’s a problem every year; if not here, they’re building somewhere else,” Carroll said of the birds.

Students at Foxcroft Academy and in SAD 68 schools in Dover-Foxcroft affected by the power outage were released at noon because officials weren’t sure how long the outage would last.

The affected transmission line is part of a major rebuilding project the company plans to begin this fall, Carroll said.

As part of the process, a default locator system was installed a couple of weeks ago at a substation in Parkman. That system allowed company employees to determine very quickly where the fault was centered, he said.

“It’s paid off nicely,” Carroll said.

Some past power outages were lengthy because employees had to walk, canoe, or travel by all-terrain vehicles along miles of transmission line to find the problems, he said.

Since ospreys cannot be removed or relocated, the company will look for a short-term solution to ensure the lines are not damaged again, Carroll said.

The ospreys’ needs will be taken into account during the design process for the rebuilding project, according to Carroll.

The company might set a separate pole to allow the ospreys to continue nesting in the area or it might design a platform in a nearby tree, he said.