While it’s not something we look forward to, it’s something we at the PUD prepare for and we encourage you to as well – storm season power outages. We had a trial run with a large West End outage in August on Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA’s) line. It’s probably time to reiterate some of the information we shared in our 2nd quarter HotLine about how Clallam PUD crews work with BPA crews in responding to outages.
First, it can take some time for a BPA or PUD crew to arrive at the site of an outage, depending on how remote the location is. Crews have to be dispatched, arrive at their warehouse to get their equipment and vehicles and then head out to where somebody may or may not have reported a sighting of a branch or tree in the line. If no one has provided any information, crews have a general idea of the location of the issue causing the outage from BPA’s Dispatch Center, but this still often requires patrolling the line in dark and often stormy conditions, while safety remains a priority. If it is a significant storm and trees can be heard falling in the vicinity, or if wind velocity presents a risk of toppling lift equipment, the crews may have to suspend work until safer conditions are present.
For our region, BPA dispatches line crews out of Olympia, the closest location to Port Angeles (and the Clallam PUD service territory) Depending on weather condition travel time can take 2-3 hours for them to arrive onsite. For customers, this can be a long wait and may seem unacceptable, but we must remember it can take our own crews over an hour to arrive at remote areas. It is also not practical to try to pre-position a BPA crew up here in anticipation of a storm system much less on a permanent basis for events that normally occur 2 or 3 times a year. BPA transmission line crews out of Olympia may have to respond to similar storm damage in other areas of their district that extends further east and south along the coast.
As for why we (Clallam PUD utility workers) cannot work on (BPA’s) their system, this is a safety issue and is covered by both State and Federal (OSHA) law. When any utility provides crews to assist other utilities in mutual aid circumstances, there are extensive and time-consuming mandatory safety briefings that must cover specific technical information and current status that only the system owner could be aware of. Additionally, our crews are usually working on storm damage to the PUD electric system and it would not be effective for PUD crews to be sidelined to receive up to two hours in mandatory briefings and make other preparation to repair BPA lines when by the time the major work commences, the BPA crew may have arrived. What the PUD does do to reduce BPA outage time is to help patrol the BPA lines so that we can pinpoint the location and convey that information to BPA and therefore reduce essential response time.
Help Us Help You
The PUD’s outage management system identifies outage sites by the phone number used to report them. If your contact information has changed, and you have not notified us of that change, please do so now. This includes if you have recently disconnected a landline. We need to know to remove it from your account. This allows you to receive the automated calls that go out to notify you of a planned outage. The system will default to the landline first if you have multiple numbers associated with your account. Help us help you! Call (360) 452-9771 or (800) 542-7859 to update your information.
While our crews have an ongoing schedule of maintaining branches and brush away from PUD equipment, outages can still occur for a variety of reasons including digging, wildlife contact, car accidents, equipment failure, and the usual storms that bring down branches and trees. The following tips also work in conjunction with your disaster plan and emergency kit:
- Have flashlights/lanterns and batteries stocked up. We recommend ones with LED lights as they are long-lasting, safe, and bright! Check your supplies regularly to ensure you have fresh batteries and that all flashlights/lanterns are working.
- Avoid using candles which can cause fires.
- Keep cell phones and any battery-powered devices charged. Invest in battery or solar-powered charging devices as a backup. Cordless phones do not work during outages so if you have a landline, consider having a standard corded phone.
- Keep a battery-powered or hand-crank radio on hand to be able to listen for updates.
- Find out if your electric garage door has a manual release mechanism and know how to use it.
- Never burn charcoal, or use a gas oven or barbecue as a source of heat. Do not run your car inside a closed garage to keep warm.
- Follow your generator’s operating manual carefully and only operate it outside in a dry, well-ventilated area. Never connect a generator to your home’s electrical system. Contact your local PUD office if you have questions.
- Purchase or make ice packs to keep in your freezer to help keep food cold during an outage. During the outage, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. An unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours. A full, unopened freezer will maintain its temperature for about 48 hours.
- If you require any medical or assistive devices that require power, determine what your backup plan will be.
- Turn off or disconnect appliances or electronics in case of a power surge when service is restored or invest in surge protectors. Leave 1 light turned on so you’ll know when the power comes back on.
- Throw away any food that has been exposed to temperatures higher than 40 F for 2 hours or more, that has an unusual odor, color, or texture. When in doubt, throw it out!