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Originally Posted by Ed in Tx
Sounds exactly like the ones up in Carrollton TX that got invaded with fire ants and damaged several houses-worth of electronics. It was in the news.
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Ants are nutz about AC magnetic fields
and probably swarmed en masse, somehow causing a flash-over between HV and LV compartments in the transformers. conductors on the 120/240 side are exposed lugs under those swing-up transformer covers. Not sure ants can disrupt a neutral connection but that can do the same level of damage in most cases.
A 20 year-old development across from us is 100% underground to boxes like dieseljeep describes. I saw some of the installs in progress before the PoCo covered the direct-bury cables with dirt. Two phases and a neutral are taken off a "drop pole" along the straight main road then run along the curvy development streets, under the grass. Each transformer has two HV phases coming in it could tap from, so if one shorts out, a backup second can be plugged on.