SEOUL: Birds are a leading cause of summertime power outages in Seoul, accounting for nearly half of all such outages in recent years, Korea Electric Power Corp. revealed Monday.
According to KEPCO data on power outages from June to August between 2023 and 2025, the number of outages in the capital caused by birds rose from 41 to 63. Their share of all summer outages increased from 41.8 per cent to 49.6 per cent over the same period.
About 97 per cent of bird-related outages were caused by crows and magpies, KEPCO said.
Bird-related outages become more common from around June, when young birds begin leaving their nests. Young birds may land awkwardly on power facilities or come into contact with electrical equipment, causing electrocution and damaging the facilities.
KEPCO believes the increase may be partly linked to cities becoming more favourable habitats for birds. As natural habitats shrink, urban areas can provide food sources such as discarded food and other waste.
The problem is not limited to Seoul.
In Busan, a crow-related outage left 981 households without electricity for about an hour Sunday as temperatures hovered around 30 degrees Celsius. A similar outage affected 986 households the previous day.
Bird-related outages can endanger both wildlife and people while disrupting electricity supplies, prompting KEPCO to step up preventive measures.
Given the difficulty of using firearms in urban areas and concerns over animal welfare, KEPCO has focused largely on prevention, covering power poles and other facilities with insulating materials and removing nests between January and May when birds begin nesting.
When necessary, KEPCO can also capture crows and magpies with permission from local governments under the Wildlife Protection and Management Act.
Experts, however, say such measures alone may not offer a long-term solution as cities continue to attract birds.
“Even if nests are removed from power poles, other wild birds may move in as long as the environment remains favourable for them,” said Choi Yu-seong, a researcher at the National Institute of Biological Resources, in an interview with Kyunghyang Shinmun.
“Strictly managing food waste and illegally dumped garbage in urban areas to reduce food sources for birds is a long-term solution.” - Korea Herald/ANN
