Squirrels are a leading cause of outages and blips across the country, with thousands of outages per year attributed to these furry neighborhood critters. Events like storms and lightning strikes can cause power surges and outages.
Last updated July 21, 2026
Have you ever experienced your lights blinking or briefly going out during a thunderstorm or windy day, only to come right back on? Or maybe you’ve come home to find the clock on your stove or microwave flashing. If so, you’ve likely experienced a temporary disruption to your electric service.
While these events can seem similar, they are actually two very different things from an electrical standpoint: power surges and power blips. Understanding the difference can help you better protect your home and know when it’s time to contact your utility.
Power surges explained
A power surge is a brief increase in voltage — also known as an overvoltage — that exceeds what your home’s electrical system is designed to handle. Significant power surges can damage or even destroy sensitive electronics and appliances.
While lightning is a well-known cause of power surges, many smaller surges actually originate inside a home or business. High-powered appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, well pumps and HVAC equipment can create small voltage spikes each time they cycle on or off. Surges can also result from faulty wiring, damaged equipment or problems on the electric system.
Most modern electronics are designed to withstand minor voltage fluctuations, but it’s still a good idea to protect valuable devices.
To reduce your risk:
- Use quality surge protectors for sensitive electronics.
- Consider asking a licensed electrician about installing a whole-home surge protector.
- If you experience frequent power surges, have your home’s electrical system inspected by a qualified electrician.
Blips, or blinks, explained
A power blip, sometimes called a blink or glitch, is a brief interruption in electric service caused by a temporary fault on the electric system.
Common causes include:
- Tree branches contacting power lines
- Squirrels or other wildlife coming into contact with energized equipment
- Lightning
- Wind-related debris
When these events occur, protective devices on the electric system—similar to circuit breakers in your home—automatically detect the fault and temporarily interrupt power to protect the electrical grid. In many cases, the fault clears almost immediately, allowing power to be restored within seconds without requiring crews to manually reset equipment.
Although a brief blink can be inconvenient, it’s often a sign that the electric system is working exactly as designed. These protective devices help prevent equipment damage and can stop a temporary problem from becoming a longer outage.
Even a momentary interruption can reset digital clocks, internet routers and other electronic devices, even though the outage only lasts a second or two.
When should you contact NRLP?
If your lights blink once during a storm and immediately return, there’s usually no need to report it. However, you should contact NRLP if:
- Your power remains out for more than a few minutes.
- You notice damaged electrical equipment.
- You see a downed power line. Never approach or drive over a downed power line. Stay at least 35 feet away and assume every line is energized.
- Multiple homes or businesses in your area appear to be without power.
Whenever outages or significant system events occur, NRLP crews are dispatched to investigate the cause and restore service as safely and quickly as possible.
To report an outage, call 828-264-3671. During business hours, customer service representatives are available to assist you. After hours, calls are answered by Appalachian State University Police Dispatch, who will notify on-call utility personnel.
Learn more about outage preparedness
Public power utilities like NRLP are known for reliability. In fact, NRLP has a 99.98% reliability rating. And on average, when public power customers experience an outage, power is restored three times faster than other utility types. But outages can still occur at any time. Wildlife, vegetation and weather events are just some of the common causes of outages. That’s why we encourage all NRLP customers to be prepared. Learning about outage preparedness is one of the many ways you can increase your overall readiness.