Monday night’s power outage, which affected Kent, Ravenna and Franklin Township, was the result of an unexpected source.

“The case was a raccoon that blew a transformer at our substation on Rhodes Road,” Ohio Edison manager Robin Patton said.

Patton said the outage began at 10:15 p.m. and left 7,200 customers located near state Route 59 without power. It lasted for about two hours.

The equipment has been replaced, but the raccoon was electrocuted and did not survive. Patton added it is not uncommon for animals to be the cause of power outages.

Residences such as Ryan Place and College Towers apartments were affected, as were businesses such as Gabriel Brothers and the Bistro on Main. Kent State did not lose power.

Fire Departments from Ravenna, Brimfield, Mogadore and Rootstown were called in for the assistance, yet the impact of the outage was low.

Ravenna Fire Captain Marty Dix said there were no incidents reported in connection to the outage. Like Kent State, the Kent Police Department did not lose power, Lt. Jayme Cole said. He added that the outage was more an inconvenience than a major emergency service issue.

Contact reporting public affairs reporter Deanna Stevens at [email protected].