I work for a grid operator here in the US. There's certainly a lot of FUD in that article, but it gets one thing right: critters in the equipment are a major s

I work for a grid operator here in the US. There's certainly a lot of FUD in that article, but it gets one thing right: critters in the equipment are a major source of failure. Last year we had a power glitch at our office when a snake climbed up a power pole and shorted across two phases. The snake didn't survive and folks learned to make sure their desktops are plugged into the outlets served by the building UPS.