The possum did not survive the incident.

Possum cuts power to 12,000 homes

A possum has caused power to be cut off from 12,000 Sydney homes and businesses this morning, an electricity provider said.

The possum acted as a conductor when it came into contact with two live parts of the electricity network near a large substation at Killarney Heights on Sydney’s north shore, a spokeswoman for Ausgrid told smh.com.au.

A short-circuit was created by the contact which triggered the network's safety mechanism at about 4.30am, cutting power to properties in Frenchs Forest, Belrose and Killarney Heights.

It was restored to 6000 Ausgrid customers at Belrose and Frenchs Forest at 7.45am and to 6000 other customers just before 8am.

"There are a lot of possums in Sydney and they use the power lines as their own highway — as a connection between trees or roads," the news website quoted Ausgrid spokesman Anthony O'Brien as saying.

This morning’s power outage was different to others caused by animals because it took place near a large substation, he said.

"It was 33,000 volts. The power line you would normally see running down your suburban street is 415 volts."

The possum did not survive the incident.

Ausgrid has installed equipment to try and protect possums from parts of the electricity network.