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Work Planned to Improve Queen Anne Underground Cables’ Reliability

Seattle City Light crews will be working in the Queen Anne neighborhood this summer to extend the service life of aging underground cables and increase the reliability of electric service.

Seattle City Light crews will be working in the Queen Anne neighborhood this summer to extend the service life of aging underground cables and increase the reliability of electric service.

City Light is working with a company called Novinium to inject older underground cables with silicone. This process is designed to fill cracks that develop in the protective insulation as the cables age. Such cracks can lead to cable failures and power outages.

“Silicone injection is a cost-effective way to increase the reliability of service for our customers while limiting the need to dig up and replace the old cables,” Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said. “We are using this process successfully throughout our service territory, including recent projects in Leschi, View Ridge, Laurelhurst and Arroyo Beach.”

The 10-week project is scheduled to begin in mid-June and will involve planned outages. Crews first test the cables to determine if the injection process can work. If the cable condition is satisfactory, crews come back later to inject the silicone into the lines. Cables found to be in such poor condition that injection will not work, will be replaced. Customers will be notified at least one week in advance of any planned outages. Typically, crews work between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Seattle City Light is inviting customers to a community meeting on the project at the Queen Anne Community Center, Room 3, 1901 1st Ave W, 98119, Wednesday, May 26.

Additionally, customers may get information by visiting: http://www.seattle.gov/light/aboutus/construction/ or contacting Mark Vanoss at (206) 684-3279 or mark.vanoss@seattle.gov

Seattle City Light is the ninth largest public electric utility in the United States.  It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents.  City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.