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News and Updates from Seattle City Light

Seattle City (spot)Light: Erin Lowery

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Erin Lowery will celebrate five years at City Light this June. Erin is a fisheries biologist who works in the utility’s Environment, Land, and Licensing Business Unit. “We have various settlement agreements through our Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license (FERC),” Erin explained. “These agreements are designed to reduce our effects on various resource areas. My job is to manage our fisheries program as defined by our Fisheries Settlement Agreement.”

A Seattle native, Erin grew up in a turn of the century farm house in Ballard. He attended the University of Washington where he pursued his undergraduate and graduate studies at the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. “My master’s focused on the feeding behavior of bull trout in the Skagit River,” Erin shared. “That work was funded by the Science Policy Unit here at City Light. I worked with Ed Connor and Dave Pflug throughout my graduate program and am proud to be one of the scientists in that group.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Erin talks about his hobbies and his work at City Light.

Erin with his family

“Spending time with my family is my priority. We live in Haller Lake in North Seattle. I love that my girls have become friends with a ton of kids in our neighborhood. My wife and I have also befriended many of our neighbors. And our neighborhood has sidewalks! I’m also introducing a few of my hobbies to my daughters. I like working on classic and modern cars. I have a ’74 MGB roadster, ’67 Series 2a Land Rover 88”, and a ’95 Land Rover Range Rover Classic. I’m also into junk yards, brewing beer, woodworking and metal working. I like to hunt big game (deer, elk, and bear) and upland bird hunting. Living in the Northwest, I also enjoy hiking, camping, overlanding, boating, and various types of fishing.”

“I work on two research programs that focus on Chinook salmon and steelhead. There is also a habitat construction and maintenance program for chum salmon and a small resident trout stocking program for the reservoirs. I help manage the flow plan on the Skagit which dictates how we operate the Gorge Dam in support of salmon and steelhead spawning, incubation, and fry migration. The model that was used to develop the flow program could not provide 100% protection of salmon redds (nests), so there’s a clause in our license that allows us to modify our flows based on the results of on-the-ground monitoring. Because of this, I’m out on the river once a week from March-June and again in August-January to monitor spawning activity. I use the data collected to work with natural resource agencies, tribes and City Light’s Power Management to achieve 100% redd protection.”

“City Light has a reputation of being a good steward of the environment. It’s also an organization that puts science first. Working with Ed and Dave left a big impression on me; it was a great experience.  When I was a researcher at UW I maintained professional relationships with the biologists on the Skagit. So, naturally, I was excited to apply to the utility when a position became available. I like the nature of the work and my colleagues. It also nice to know that I’m a valued part of the organization and that my work is important.”



Streetlight Infrastructure Upgrades Planned in Shelby-Hamlin

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Beginning this April, Seattle City Light will replace the aging streetlights in the Shelby-Hamlin neighborhood with a new, more reliable light-emitting diode (LED) streetlight system. The new LED streetlights will make residential streets safer by increasing their visibility at night.

The project includes the installation of 21 new LED streetlights in the neighborhood. The current neighborhood configuration has 18 total lights.

This is a map of the construction work area in the Shelby-Hamlin neighborhood.Shelby-Hamlin Construction Work Area

Existing streetlights will be replaced with new poles and LED fixtures. The fixtures will be equipped with a “Type II” pattern that distributes light to the street and sidewalk.

What You Can Expect

  • Construction will be phased in several stages to minimize street closures in the neighborhood. Only one side of the street will be closed at a time during construction.
  • Some streetlights may be relocated from their existing fixture locations during this project.
  • Noise is expected from construction and heavy equipment.

Construction is scheduled to start in mid-April 2019, starting with potholing activities and equipment staging. Daily work hours are from Mondays through Fridays, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The entire project is anticipated to take approximately five to six months to complete.

For more information, please contact Patrick Donohue, Senior Capital Projects Coordinator at (206) 386-1654 or at patrick.donohue@seattle.gov.

Visit Seattle City Light’s construction website for updates on this project and others in your neighborhood: www.seattle.gov/light/atwork/release.asp?RN=384

Update on East Marginal Way South power pole incident

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Updated April 24

On Friday, April 5 around 3:50 p.m., 26 utility poles came down along East Marginal Way South in Tukwila. We will provide updates in this space as they become available. Here is what we know now:


Immediate Response

At the outset of the event, seven City Light crews with about 40 workers responded to the scene. Our first priority was the safety of two people in the vehicle hit by a pole and our first responders. Next was restoring power to our approximately 16,500 impacted customers. Our crews got all but around 300 customers back on by about 6 p.m. Friday. They kept working through the night and by Saturday morning, only 13 customers remained out. We continue to be in contact with those customers as we work to restore their service (more on that below).

We also focused on clearing the road of debris. Once we completed that work late Saturday morning, we turned it over to the City of Tukwila to address their impacted streetlights. The road was reopened by the afternoon.

Finally, City Light engineers were also onsite over the weekend, assessing the situation to determine and begin designing necessary permanent fixes.

Investigation

Under our wood pole inspection/replacement program, we have replaced approximately 15,000 wood poles across City Light’s service area since 2010 (see this 2017 Seattle Channel video about the pole inspection process). The poles along this road were inspected in 2016 by a third-party vendor as part of that process. At that time, we treated a number of poles in accordance with normal industry standard and identified several for replacement over the coming years. None were identified as priority one (in need of immediate replacement) or posing a public safety hazard. (see more information about the poles and inspection process added below).

To ensure full accountability and impartiality, we will contract with a third party to assist in a thorough investigation. We hope to have the contract initiated today. The process will include reviewing previous inspection records, inspecting the damaged poles and equipment, which have been collected and transported to a City Light facility, as well as obtaining and reviewing any available video from the vicinity. At this time, we do not have an estimate for how long this investigation will take to complete.

April 11 update: Despite ongoing efforts that began within a few days of the incident, initiating the third-party investigation has been a slower process than we’d hoped. As we developed the scope of work and level of public scrutiny that this engagement would require, we realized that it was important to find a firm with the specific skills, capacity and interest to conduct a robust investigation in a timely manner. We’ve had conversations with several firms and we’re now in discussion with a national engineering firm and plan to engage an appropriate firm as soon as possible.

The good news is that we’ve secured the poles and infrastructure that came down last Friday, which means the investigation itself will not be compromised by the delayed start. One of the focus areas for the investigation will be whether we are replacing identified poles at an appropriate pace.

April 16 update: The Seattle City Attorney’s Office (CAO) is coordinating the City’s investigation into the 26 power poles that came down on April 5. The CAO retained a key investigator on April 15, and will add experts to the team in the coming weeks. At this time, although we would like for the investigation to proceed as quickly as possible, we are unable to predict how long it will take.

April 24 update: The City was recently provided video that shows some of the poles falling. Given that this is the first video showing these particular poles that the City is aware of, Seattle City Light is posting the video here. The video starts as rain and wind begin in the area and appears to abruptly stop when the camera loses power.

downed utility poles

The downed poles were moved to a secure yard and covered to protect from the elements. They will be inspected by a third-party firm as part of the investigation.

Restoration

City Light is prioritizing work to assess, design and construct permanent fixes to the system in this location. Today, we are preparing for construction of the circuits, so that work can begin once engineering completes the design. Crews will be working 12 hours, seven days a week to get power restored to this area. Once work is underway, we estimate that the full restoration process will take approximately two to three weeks to complete.

April 24 update: On Friday, April 19, two weeks after 26 utility poles came down along East Marginal Way South, City Light crews energized the last two customers who had been without power since the initial incident. While there is work still to be done, this restoration was accomplished more quickly than initially anticipated. Thanks goes to our hard-working, dedicated crews who enjoyed a much needed weekend off after working 12 hours a day, seven days a week. In the coming days we’ll be cleaning up the construction staging area, making sidewalk repairs and restoring vegetation where necessary, as well as working to cut over two customers, the Museum of Flight and the Raisbeck Aviation High School, from temporary to permanent power.

Customer Service

City Light is working with the seven unique customers (13 meters) that are impacted by the continued outage and planned restoration work along East Marginal Way South. We are currently working with individual customers to determine and meet their specific energy needs.

April 10 update: Our engineers have identified and are implementing temporary measures to restore power to some of the customers that remain without. This afternoon, we turned on temporary power to the Museum of Flight (those buildings not yet restored). Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we are confident we can provide temporary power to the Raisbeck Aviation High School, which is on spring break, sometime tomorrow. The full permanent restoration is still expected to take two to three weeks to complete.

April 11 update: This afternoon, we turned on temporary power to the Raisbeck Aviation High School.

April 24 update: On of Friday, April 19, City Light crews energized the last two customers who had been without power since the initial incident.

SCL crews working

City Light crews work to restore power along East Marginal Way South.


Additional information added April 11:

Poles

The 26 poles that fell on East Marginal Way South range significantly in age; the oldest two were installed in 1954 and the five newest in 2011. All were inspected in December 2016.

As part of the pole inspection process (described below), poles are assigned a priority rating from 1 to 5; poles identified as P1 or P2 are flagged for replacement, although P2 poles do not require immediate replacement and maintenance is suggested within a “practical timeframe.” The poles that fell on East Marginal Way South had priority ratings between P2 and P5 and the eight P2 poles were included in City Light’s Capital Improvement Plan.

Poles “age” at different rates for a variety of reasons, including location, soil characteristics, wood density, physical environment and treatment applied. It’s a complex process that the industry has studied for many years. As poles age, water is absorbed and over time, the resulting bacteria attacks the integrity of the wood. Hence the investment in aggressive “test and treat” programs by all electric utilities. As an example, in the 2016 inspection cycle one of the 1954 poles was assigned a P2 rating and the other was assigned a P4 rating.

Pole Inspection Process

City Light’s “Inspection Procedures for Wood Pole Assessment” were developed in conjunction with a third-party vendor and are carried out by a second third-party vendor. As designed, the program evaluates the integrity of the overhead line system by using skilled workers equipped with appropriate tools to aid their judgement. Each of City Light’s 93,000 individually or jointly owned poles that have been in service for five years or more are to be inspected on a 10-year cycle. The 26 poles that fell were a mixture of individually owned and jointly owned poles with both City Light and communication entities’ equipment attached. The inspection process includes a visual, sound and bore partial excavation inspection as demonstrated in this 2017 Seattle Channel video and described in this 2014 blog post.

City Light’s wood pole inspection program was put in place in 2011, which makes it a relatively new area of focus, but one where we are making steady improvement. If the third-party investigation or our own internal review reveals changes to our current pole inspection program are advisable, we will pursue those adjustments in the near term.

City Light receives 2019 Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters award

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The National Hydropower Association has recognized Seattle City Light with a 2019 Outstanding Stewards of America’s Waters award for the utility’s project to remove the Mill Pond Dam and restore the riverine ecosystems processes to pre-dam condition.

Seattle City Light won in the Recreational, Environmental & Historical Enhancement category, which recognizes projects that provide enhanced recreational opportunities for the general public; offer measurable benefits that mitigate, conserve, preserve or enhance the natural resources; or conserve historical aspects of hydropower facilities and their integration with the surrounding community.

Mill Pond Dam removal

Demolition of the Mill Pond Dam

With an innovative approach focused on restoring floodplain connectivity, system resiliency and recovery of native fish populations, City Light undertook the challenge of removing Mill Pond Dam, located in northern Pend Oreille County, to satisfy relicensing requirements for the utility’s Boundary Hydroelectric Project. The project restored connectivity to more than 46 miles of upstream habitat on Sullivan Creek. All told, the project included more than 85 acres of floodplain and riparian restoration, 9,000 linear feet of restored channel, and 7,000 linear feet of channel enhancement. Read more about City Light’s project here.

With the dam removal completed in 2018 and the restoration and associated improvements wrapping up this spring, the U.S. Forest Service aims to reopen the Mill Pond campground by Memorial Day weekend. The Mill Pond historic day use site and new trail system around the old pond site will open in summer 2019.

For more information about this project, please visit www.millponddam.com.

City Light to Begin LED Streetlight Conversion Work in Downtown Seattle

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Seattle City Light is continuing to improve customer safety, reduce carbon emissions and conserve resources by converting the globe streetlights in the downtown Seattle core from high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights to energy-efficient LEDs. The new LED lights will enrich the quality of lighting, improve pedestrian and traffic safety, and maintain the character of downtown Seattle’s historic neighborhoods.

Existing globe streetlights will be replaced with LEDs in the downtown Seattle core.

In 2018, City Light piloted a streetlight program in the Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market neighborhoods. Two streetlight fixtures were evaluated for their appearance, historical integrity and light levels. Customers provided their feedback through an online survey. Based on community input, City Light selected an LED fixture and will begin converting all globe streetlights in the downtown Seattle core.

A map of the downtown Seattle streets that will be impacted by the LED conversion work.

By the end of 2019, the utility expects to convert about 2,281 HPS lights to LED fixtures and save about 536,683 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – enough energy to power more than 51 homes for a year.

Conversion work is scheduled to begin in early April 2019. City Light’s contractor, Potelco will be working in Seattle’s arterial roadways, starting in Pioneer Square. Working hours are from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., Mondays through Thursdays. Minimal traffic and parking impacts are expected in the immediate work area. The downtown LED conversion work is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

For more information about this project, please visit seattle.gov/light/atwork.

Seattle City Light is the 10th 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 about 750,000 Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.

Seattle City (spot)Light: Sara Lien

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Sara Lien will celebrate five years at City Light in April. Originally from Taiwan, she moved around to different cities before settling in Vancouver, British Columbia. She attended Simon Fraser University and received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting. After college, she articled with KPMG, a public accounting firm, to obtain her Chartered Accountant license (or CPA equivalent) and did mostly financial audits and corporate tax planning. “I decided that my experience at KPMG provided me with good background. I wanted to learn more on the operational side of businesses, so I left the public accounting practice and switched industries, focusing on internal and process auditing,” she explained.

Sara moved to Seattle when she began her career at City Light as an Internal Auditor in Finance, but recently switched roles to be a Strategic Advisor for the Continuous Improvement team in Customer Care. “I’m working with different business groups to initiate the new Business Process Improvement Strategic Plan,” she shared. Longer term, she hopes to help City Light cultivate a continuous improvement culture, which engages people at all levels of the organization.

In this week’s (spot)Light, find out about her love for Seattle, travel, and work.

Sara, her husband and their chocolate lab, Maddy

“My husband (Darren) and I live in Queen Anne with our chocolate Labrador, Maddy. We love exploring Seattle and the surrounding area because we’re both relatively new to the city. We enjoy all the different local parks. My favorite is Discovery Park. It reminds me of Stanley Park in Vancouver. Discovery Park has many different trails that lead to majestic view of Mt. Rainer, the Olympic mountains, and the Puget Sound. It is my go-to spot for reflections and a quick getaway from life’s business.”

“As a couple, we love traveling. We usually plan one major trip each year. We travelled to Taiwan last November, so I could share with Darren the country I grew up in, my culture, and favorite Taiwanese dishes. Since I left Taiwan at young age, I wasn’t very familiar with its history. Darren and I visited some key landmarks and museums, and we were able to learn the country’s history, political climate and appreciate even more of our experiences there. This year, we are looking forward to taking the infamous coastal drive from San Jose to Big Sur in California. “

“One of the great things about working for City Light is what the utility stands for: being green and serving its customers. Those are the great things you want to be part of. I like the fact that the utility industry is very broad. It covers everything from operations, customer services, wholesale and retail energy, to conservation. The learning never ends. Finally, I am grateful for the various City Light programs that help me to develop professionally, such as the Emerging Leader and Tuition Reimbursement. Because of these programs, I am applying what I learned to my daily work and pursuing a Master’s in Organizational Leadership at Gonzaga University!“

5 Ways City Light Goes Green

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With more than 40 years of conservation programs, a long history of producing clean hydropower and a zero-carbon footprint, City Light strives to be the Nation’s Greenest Utility.  In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here are five ways our utility and customers go green!

1. Weatherizing Homes to Save Energy

For low-income families living in older homes, money could be leaking out of the cracks. To help support these families, we’ve partnered with the Seattle Department of Housing for the HomeWise Weatherization Program which provides free energy efficiency improvements to qualified homes, increasing comfort and saving money. Before we go green, we have to go a little blue with Seahawks super fan Mama Blue! Last year, we helped weatherize our favorite fan’s home. Check out our video featuring the legend herself!

2. Supporting Businesses with Green Up

City Light’s Green Up program gives our customers the opportunity to help grow the renewable energy market in our region, by supporting the businesses who provide that energy. Your participation also supports local renewable energy education and demonstration projects. By simply add $3, $6 or $12 to your bill per month, you can help us create a cleaner, greener world for the next generation. Click here to learn more about Green Up!

3. We Love Hydropower!

Diablo Dam in the Skagit Hydroelectric Project

City Light has generated hydroelectricity for more than 100 years starting with our first facility in Cedar Falls in 1904! Since then, we have expanded our facilities throughout Washington state from the robust Boundary Hydroelectric Project in the northeast to the three power-generating dams of the Skagit Hydroelectric Project nestled under the peaks of the North Cascades National Park. In fact, 91 percent of the power used by City Light customers is generated by hydro.

Did you know that you can even tour our hydroelectric facilities? Click here to learn more!

4. Rebates and Incentives

Regardless of whether you rent or own your home, City Light provides multiple incentives and rebates to keep you and your family energy efficient. City Light offers instant discounts on LED lightbulbs (at participating retailers across our service area) and rebates on appliances including water heaters and heating and cooling systems, just to name a few. Find out more about our energy saving incentives on our Energy Solutions site!

5. Protecting Vital Habitats

Salmon along the banks of the Skagit River

In keeping with our value of environmental stewardship, we are committed to enhancing, protecting and preserving the environment in which we operate. As part of the Puget Sound Chinook Recovery Plan, City Light has purchased nearly 1,200 acres of land near and along crucial watersheds and wetlands to revitalize these habitats to protect Chinook salmon spawning areas

Most properties need some initial work, such as removing invasive species and planting in areas that should have a denser canopy cover. Once the work is complete, nature takes over. Through the acquisition of these critical areas, particularly those that include spawning and rearing habitat, City Light preserves these lands and keeps crucial streams and rivers clean and cool for years to come.

In 2018, City Light, in partnership with the Skagit Land Trust, received a $1.6 million grant to purchase 100 acres to continue this important work. Last month, City Light’s efforts were highlighted by the American Public Power Association. Click here to read the article. 

 

To learn more about City Light’s efforts to go green, visit seattle.gov/light/enviro.

Seattle City (spot)Light: Meghan Pinch

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Meghan Pinch has been at City Light for seven years. She’s part of Customer Energy Solutions (CES) where she works as a Business Transformation Strategic Advisor. “I’m helping reposition CES to be more nimble, agile and responsive to emerging energy efficiency technologies and evolving customer needs,” Meghan explained. “I’m also leading the CES culture change initiative – a multi-year effort that will enable us to fulfill our division’s Mission Vision and Values.”

Meghan grew up in Spokane and came to Seattle to pursue her undergrad in Jewish Studies at the University of Washington (UW). After college, she lived in the Bay Area, Whitefish and Jackson Hole before returning to UW to receive a master’s degree in Urban Planning. She lives in Rainier Beach with her husband and two children – her daughter Addie (four-years) and son Oren (18-months).

In this week’s (spot)Light, Meghan talks about life in Rainer Beach, her interests and what she enjoys about City Light.

Meghan with her family

“I love Rainier Beach – its history, sense of community, diversity and plentiful open space! We live next to the Chief Sealth Trail, a beautiful pathway (under City Light power lines!) with great views of Mt. Rainier and downtown. We take family walks along the trail; it’s a great way for my kids to explore! Before I had children, I helped launch the Rainier Beach Urban Farm, and now Addie attends pre-school next door. They often go on exploratory adventures to the farm. There is also a horse farm behind us, and we see people riding horses on the trail. Oren loves airplane spotting at Boeing Field just over the hill.”

“I love to ski and ride bikes. Before I had children, I did cyclocross and mountain bike racing as a member of a local cycling team. These days I’m busy teaching my kids to ski. I also sneak in knitting and quilting when I can. In warmer months, we do a lot of outdoor activities like camping and fishing. I also love to garden but am figuring out how to fit it in with the general chaos of our kids and pets!”

“My CES colleagues are fantastic and are a favorite part of my job. In the past two years, we’ve better aligned our programs with our strategic goals. We’ve also designed and implemented a new framework to govern program development, portfolio decisions and resource allocation. We spent the last year developing a Blueprint for Culture Change and held training practice to create a more respectful workplace. This year, we’re implementing the Blueprint. So far, we’ve engaged our leadership team with training in conflict management, inclusive leadership and have put a strong focus on effective performance reviews. Looking ahead, we plan to conduct training and practice in conflict management.”

“There is so much I value working at City Light. I appreciate the family friendly culture. I also love the people. I’m continually amazed by my colleagues, their commitment and how we work together to do new, innovative things. City Light has been a great place for career growth. I’m not sure I would have seen myself in my current role 7 years ago; it wasn’t really on my radar. However, I’ve really enjoyed this job and have been given a great opportunity to develop the skills required to do this work.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Robert Mahoney

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Robert Mahoney started his City Light career in 2013. From consultant role to temporary position, he’s now a full-time employee in the Power Supply business unit. “I’m the Operational Technology Program Manager for the Power Systems Automation Group,” Robert explained. “I manage the scope, schedule and budget – for most of the projects that come out of our group.  Right now, we’re implementing the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) and working on new trading and risk management systems, business processes and training employees on the new tools. We’re currently   focused mostly on software.”

Rob grew up in the Boston area where he pursued his education at local institutions. He graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology with a degree in electrical engineering and later earned an MBA on organizational behavior from Suffolk University in Boston.

Rob lives in Bothell with his wife Erica and their two daughters, Emily (five years old) and Makenna (two years old). In this week’s (spot)Light, Rob talks about his hometown, hobbies and life in the Northwest.

Rob with his family

“I interned at my local utility during my sophomore year of college and it just kind of stuck. I enjoy knowing how much work goes into something simple as turning the lights on. At utilities we figure out how to generate, transmit and distribute electricity especially around certain constraints and congestion. It’s a fun, complex problem to solve.”

“I grew up in Rockland, Massachusetts which is halfway between Boston and Cape Cod. I lived there for 27 years and met my wife in Boston. At the time I was working at National Grid during the day and the door at comedy club at night. She grew up near Portland but went to school in upstate New York. She always wanted to move back to the Northwest.  We’ve been here for about 8 years but enjoy traveling back east as often as we can.

“I enjoy the Northwest. The views here are amazing. The mountains, the trees, the ability not to have snow, but have the option to experience it in the winter whenever you want. That’s something I don’t miss about New England – the frigid cold temps. The weather here is great. I don’t think there is a better place to be than Seattle in the summertime. But even though I live here, I still root for my Boston teams. I’m a total Red Sox, Bruins and Patriots fan.”

“We have two kids and do a lot of hiking and exploring different parks. I think that’s another thing that’s unique to the Northwest. Our kids keep us busy; there is always gymnastics, soccer or some activity going on. Something that most people don’t know about me is that I love musicals, if I’m working with my headphones it is it probably Wicked or Hamilton. I also enjoy archery, it’s something I tried it as a team building activity when I was consultant and I really liked it! I’ve been doing it for nearly four years. It’s fun, precise and incredibly calming to me. I never thought it would be something that I do in life, but I’ve completely taken to it. My oldest daughter also enjoys it, so we do that together in our backyard.”

Seattle City Light Contact Voltage Survey Results

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In late 2018, Seattle City Light completed its ninth consecutive year conducting contact voltage testing. With the help of Power Survey Company, City Light was able to identify and repair 17 instances, 10 City Light-owned and seven privately-owned systems, where metal structures or equipment were improperly energized with at least 30 volts of electricity. These instances were responded to and repaired immediately after being discovered. Power Survey Company supports the testing by calculating survey routes to ensure area coverage and using their mobile detection program to detect and log the events. This year’s findings were slightly fewer than those in 2017, when 18 instances were discovered by this survey testing. Testing in 2018 also identified 12 instances of contact voltage of less than 30 volts, which were also responded to and either repaired or de-energized. Over the nine years of survey testing, no accidents or injuries have resulted from this method of testing.

Contact voltage events can be the result of many factors, including weather, improper installation, aging infrastructure and corrosion. City Light’s contact voltage testing and response is a demonstration of the utility’s commitment to safety, both for the public and for its employees. Surveying for contact voltage events can also help increase power quality and decrease vault fires. To continue to address these matters, City Light is working to strategically refurbish and replace infrastructure as outlined by a 10-year horizon plan.

With Seattle’s recent weather, it is important to note that most cases of contact voltage occur in the winter months when weather can be a factor. You can keep yourself and your loved ones safe by taking these tips into account:

  1. When walking your pet, be aware if your pet acts strangely around any potentially energized metal equipment.
  2. Don’t tie your pet’s leash to a streetlight or near a handhole.
  3. Avoid contact with metal equipment that could be energized.
  4. Report any streetlights that remain on during the day or that are flickering during the evening. This could indicate a problem.
  5. To report a malfunctioning streetlight or a streetlight that is out, go to seattle.gov/light/streetlight.

You can read the full report here.