For the third time this summer, an electrical outage in north Alabama is being blamed on a snake.

No – not the same one.

About 14,000 customers of Decatur Utilities lost power Friday morning around midnight, according to the utility.

According to the utility, an investigation into the cause determined a “very lengthy snake” entered the Decatur Primary Substation, came in contact with energized equipment and tripped the station’s protective breaker.

Other distribution substations soon followed. Power was restored by the afternoon.

In July, two utilities experienced similar outages. The Marshall DeKalb Electric Cooperative, which serves about 19,000 customers, reported an outage in early July, and then a few weeks later, a snake made its way into the Athens Primary Substation on Elkton, disrupting power for customers in West Limestone, Clements and parts of Tanner and Athens.