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News and Updates from Seattle City Light

City Light Announces New Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers in Seattle

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Seattle City Light is announcing several new public electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers in the city of Seattle. The publicly accessible stations are part of a pilot program to install 20 EV fast chargers throughout the utility’s service area and supports the city’s Drive Clean Seattle initiative, which centers on delivering community-focused transportation solutions.

The newly installed chargers were installed in the following locations:

  • Magnuson Park (located off of Sportsfield Drive NE on the west end of the W6 parking lot)
  • Madison-Miller (East Olive Street, between 21st and 22nd avenues)
  • Alaska-Junction (39th Avenue SW, between SW Oregon Street and Fauntleroy Way SW)

Each station is equipped with two EV fast chargers, which can dispense upwards of 165 miles of range per hour of charge time, depending on the vehicle.

The utility also unveiled a time-of-day fee structure for the public EV fast chargers last year. The “Daytime” cost-to-charge is from Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. The “All Other Hours” cost-to-charge is all hours on Sunday and Monday-Saturday from 12:00 a.m.-6:59 a.m. and 7:01 p.m.-11:59 p.m. 

Charging fees for City Light’s EV chargers in Seattle (2020)

Daytime All Other Hours
$0.3175 (per kWh)$0.1737 (per kWh)

Additional stations are also being installed in Tukwila this year. City Light continues to seek and evaluate new locations within the utility’s service area. These plans are outlined in the Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan, which was approved by the Seattle City Council earlier this month.

These charging stations are available for public use and can be found on the popular EV charging app, PlugShare. For more information on City Light’s electric vehicle programs and initiatives, visit energysolutions.seattle.gov/electric-vehicles/.   

Mayor Durkan celebrates passage of Transportation Electrification Plan to guide Seattle City Light’s investments in an electrified transportation system

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Seattle City Light’s Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan will guide equitable investments to electrify all forms of transportation

Mayor Jenny Durkan today applauded City Council’s passage of Seattle City Light’s Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan, an important step in committing resources and making investments to modernize our electric grid and enable a once-in-a-century transformation of the Seattle area’s transportation ecosystem.

“We envision a future Seattle where the movement of people, goods and services in and around the city is electrified,” said Mayor Durkan. “This is an essential piece of Climate Action Plan, Drive Clean Seattle Initiative and the Green New Deal. With this plan, Seattle will lead the way to a healthy future that is carbon-neutral, equitable and modern, while supporting customer choice and fostering new economic and workforce opportunities.”

In 2019, the Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 1512, granting public utilities the authority, already established for investor-owned utilities, to offer incentives and services to their customers to electrify transportation. Development and adoption of the Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan, required by the law, ensures City Light can capitalize on that new authority to use these future offerings,  our prior learnings and stakeholder engagement to ensure the benefits of transportation electrification are accelerated and maximized for all the communities we serve.

The plan sets the priorities for future programs and services and describes how the utility will bolster and modernize our electric grid to enable public transit charging, support freight and commercial fleets and provide flexibility for personal mobility. City Light centered this plan on three key values:

  • Equity – to ensure benefits are focused to support and uplift underserved communities.
  • Environment – to improve air quality and public health.
  • The grid – operating the electricity delivery system as a community asset to deliver public good.

It reflects City Light’s engagements with the cities in its service area, with communities it serves, and with partner agencies to further its modernization- and customer-focused missions, including ensuring that investment in transportation infrastructure results in equitable outcomes.

“Seattle must continue the hard work to address climate change, and owning Seattle City Light enables us to expand opportunities to use clean hydroelectric power to decarbonize our economy, including throughout our transportation systems,” said Councilmember Alex Pedersen, chair of the Council’s Transportation and Utilities Committee. “Adopting this thoughtful Electrification Strategic Investment Plan also builds upon the collaboration between Seattle’s executive and legislative branches of government, including the Green New Deal resolution and the new ‘Climate Note’ that requires us to consider all new legislation through the lens of climate change.”

A quickly growing electric vehicle (EV) market offers an opportunity for City Light to play an important role in reducing the climate and environmental impacts of our transportation sector, the region’s largest source of hazardous air pollutants. However, while personal vehicles – including cars, bikes and e-scooters – make up one part of the EV market, the largest benefits of transportation electrification are expected to accrue from modes that move large numbers of people – electrified transit buses and ferries – as well reduced emissions from vehicles that drive a large amount of miles, including commercial fleets, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and other high-mileage vehicle drivers.

City Light’s planned strategic investments fall in two categories: program offerings, including customer-facing incentives, services, education and promotions; and electrification enablement, including the development of future-focused infrastructure needed to support transportation electrification.

“At Seattle City Light, we are redefining electricity services to meet the evolving demands of our customers and our rapidly growing metropolitan area,” said Debra Smith, City Light General Manager and CEO. “City Light envisions a utility of the future that is responsive to the wants and needs of community members most impacted by environmental inequities, operates a modernized grid that enables real-time smart technology interaction and provides economic opportunities through infrastructure investments and upgrades. A modernized electric grid will accelerate electrification of transportation and other sectors, allow for resource optimization and prepare the region to withstand growing climate impacts.”

City Light has been working on transportation electrification over the past five years, conducting in-depth transportation electrification analyses as well as piloting public and residential EV charging, partnering with regional public transit agencies, and launching time-of-day electricity rates to better understand potential impacts of this growing market. Based on these analyses, City Light anticipates both financial cost and benefit from the transition to transportation electrification. As more EVs charge within the service area, the utility sells more electric power. The retail revenue from the new sales are expected to be greater than the costs required to procure and deliver the additional electricity, eventually stabilizing rates and providing overall benefit to customers.

Transportation electrification also offers significant opportunities to address the environmental inequities that exist in our region. Neighborhoods where marginalized populations are a relatively large share of residents are more likely to be located near the city’s major transportation routes, especially the city’s high-volume freight routes. City Light’s Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan is a component of the City’s work to address these inequities and City Light will focus on the wants and needs of environmental justice communities, which includes Black, Indigenous, and people of color as well as immigrants, refugees, persons experiencing low incomes, English language learners, youth, and seniors, in advancing the transportation electrification plan.

In developing this plan, City Light engaged with more than 40 community leaders and stakeholder groups to align investment priorities with community needs, with a focus on environmental justice communities. This strategic plan defines the process for how City Light will collaborate with customers and communities to develop a portfolio of transportation electrification offerings, and develop metrics for success reflective of our customers. Following approval of the plan, City Light will do additional work with communities to co-create program offering designs.

City Light has closely collaborated with several other City departments – Office of Sustainability and Environment, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, Seattle Department of Transportation, Office of Planning and Community Development, Office of Economic Development, Department of Neighborhoods, Finance and Administrative Services – in development of this plan and a broader citywide transportation electrification strategy.

“City Light’s strategic investment plan is a critical component of the citywide transportation electrification strategy.  In order to achieve our ambitious climate goals, it is essential that the utility have authority to offer customer incentives and services for transportation electrification, as well as the authority to promote electric vehicle adoption and advertise the utility’s services,” said Jessica Finn Coven, Director, Office of Sustainability and Environment.

Seattle City (spot)Light: Dan Langdon

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Dan Langdon has been with City Light for 14 years. He was born and raised in Iowa but traveled to Seattle on and off since the 70s. It wasn’t until 1987 that Dan moved to Washington permanently with some friends from college. “Back in those days, Seattle was a very inexpensive place to live, and the music scene was taking off. It was a great time for the city.”

“I went to The University of Iowa, where I studied lots of things, but ultimately majored in Technical Theatre,” Dan shared. “That has actually come in handy at City Light because a lot of it was about construction and electrical work.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Dan talks about his life in North Beacon Hill, his new weekend getaway, and his work at the utility.

“I live on North Beacon Hill. The views are amazing, and the neighborhood, while changing, still feels like a neighborhood. It’s close to work, the light rail, and the interstates. You can get almost anywhere pretty quickly. My partner and I recently bought a little house over in Electric City, Washington, which is right near Grand Coulee Dam, so we’ve spent many weekends working on it. I hadn’t spent much time in Eastern Washington before that, so it’s been exciting getting to know that part of the state. The geographic diversity of Washington State is amazing. Aside from that, I like cooking, reading, playing with our two dogs, and collecting mid-century furnishings and accessories (something I’ve been doing since the 1970s when nobody wanted it).”

“I worked in the hotel industry for ten years and then worked for an internet marketing startup back in the early days of the web. When a larger business acquired that company, I was out of a job, and saw a position with City Light that looked interesting: Electric Service Representative (ESR).”

“I am the Training Supervisor for the Electric Service Representative groups at North and South, and I also handle special projects. Right now, with the COVID situation, I’m spending most of my time working on projects associated with the wrap-up of the Advanced Metering Initiative (AMI). I was working on AMI before the first meter got exchanged, and I think I will be working on it until the last meter gets exchanged.”

“I love the wide variety of work I’ve been able to do here at the utility. Everything from standard ESR work, to projects like the launch of the Outage Management System, the transportation electrification initiative, and Advanced Metering, to planning and staffing the City Light booth at the Seattle Home Show for several years. I’m particularly happy to have been involved with City Light’s renewable energy efforts. When the solar production incentive began back in 2008, it was the ‘wild west,’ and nobody knew how to deal with it. It’s great to see how it has evolved – both the technology and the way that the utility has responded to it.”

A New Path of Conservation Mowing on the Chief Sealth Trail

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By Heidi Asplund, Seattle City Light Arboriculturist

Savannah Sparrow at Chief Sealth Trail (Photo courtesy of Ed Newbold)

In 2019, Seattle City Light embarked on a new Conservation Mowing Pilot Program in one of its transmission corridors—areas where high voltage transmission power lines and towers run to connect substations to residences. The Chief Sealth Trail, a 4.5-mile trail popular with pedestrians and bicyclists, is located within the corridor selected for conservation mowing.

City Light’s Vegetation Management Group had long maintained this urban multi-use corridor by mowing it end-to-end throughout the spring and summer months. However, in 2019 and 2020, vegetation managers delayed the timing of the mowing to support bird and pollinator habitats. Most sections of the corridor are mowed end-to-end by late fall.

Because of its many uses, this corridor presents an interesting challenge. City streets run though it in several areas, making visibility for motorists and bicyclists a priority. Additionally, Seattle is an Urban Bird Treaty City and a Bee City USA, designations which reflect its residents’ passion for the natural world.

Balancing the needs of trail users, city residents, and wildlife, City Light developed the following mowing program in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Seattle Fire Department (SFD):

March through July

  • Limited mowing in the following areas to promote public safety:
    • Transmission tower bases
    • 10-foot buffers off adjacent property lines/fences
    • 3-foot buffers on either side of the Chief Sealth Trail
    • 10-foot buffers at all street-ends and crossings
Conservation mowing map on the Chief Sealth Trail

August through September

  • Mowing after July 31 at the end of local primary bird nesting season:
    • Remaining areas in transmission corridor
  • Re-mowing previously mowed areas as needed

The new mowing program is already showing positive results for the natural habitat. In late March 2020, a well-known Seattle birder announced he had spotted several Savannah Sparrows—migratory ground-nesting birds—along the Chief Sealth Trail. He attributed their presence to the 2019 mowing change, which provided a better habitat for this species. A City Light staff member took GPS data points of Savannah Sparrows observed in the corridor and produced a map to help mower operators avoid potential nests.

At the end of the 2020 mowing season, vegetation management staff will assess the Conservation Mowing Program’s successes and failures and adjust next year’s program accordingly. The hope is to eventually develop partnerships and garner resources to expand the Conservation Mowing Program to include planting and maintaining low-growing native plants for pollinators, birds, and the community’s enjoyment.

Note: This post is adapted from the article “Seattle City Light’s Vegetation Management Group Travels a New Path: A Brief Look at a Transmission Corridor Conservation Mowing Program” by Heidi Asplund, published in the Sept./Oct. 2020 issue of Utility Arborist Association’s Utility Arborist Newsline (Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 46-47). It is republished here with permission.

Seattle City (spot)Light: Antronette Simmons

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Antronette Simmons began her career with Seattle City Light in January 2019. She is the Division Administrator in the Facilities, Security and Emergency Management division, where she supports human resources, financial reporting, and division operations.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Antronette’s family re-located to Seattle when she was ten. She currently lives in West Seattle. “I love the neighborhood because we have everything we need; plenty of food options for shopping and restaurants, Alki (a gem), parks, and good neighbors.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Antronette shares her new hobbies, her background before City Light, and her continued work at the utility.

Antronette and her daughter.

“I was taking piano lessons before COVID-19 struck, so I’m excited to get back to it! Since COVID, I’ve developed a green thumb, renewed my love for cooking, and have become quite the DIY oil painter; some people may have noticed my colorful doggy in the background of video calls. I’m working on colorful hot air balloons next!”

“My bachelor’s degree is in American Ethnic Studies from the University of Washington (UW), and, in September, I’ll begin UW’s Human Resources Management Certification Program. I’m excited to continue my education.”

“Before joining City Light, I worked at UW for 13 years as a research administrator. I wanted a change. City Light attracted me with its diversity, institution size, cultural changes, mission, and service to the community.  All of which are very important to me.”

“What I enjoy most about working at City Light are my colleagues and the relationships I’ve continued to build. I also appreciate the utility’s workplace expectations, leadership training, the cultural changes I see happening, and the ability to change and pivot to fit the needs of the community and organization.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Jen Chan

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Jen Chan joined City Light in May 2019 and celebrated her 20 years at the City of Seattle this past August. Jen grew up in Boston, but after one too many snow-shovel laden winters, normalized negative experiences with Boston drivers (okay, she may have been a co-participant in certain, totally justifiable situations), and a huge desire to see what the other coast was like (GO, SEAHAWKS!!), she moved to Seattle in 1996 to pursue her Master of Social Work at the University of Washington.

In this week’s (spot)Light, Jen shares more about her work at City Light, her life in Seattle, and overall, what she wants to accomplish in her role at the utility.

As City Light’s Chief of Staff, Jen oversees Communications, Performance Metrics & Benchmarks, Strategic Plan, Continuous Improvements, Organizational Change Management and other high-profile projects from the GM’s Office. One of the most common questions Jen hears is: What does a Chief of Staff actually do? Which is a great question since she has wondered that herself, given there is no standard definition and always a challenge to explain to her parents that she is not literally the “Chief” of all staff. So, one way she thinks of her role is: “Aside from management responsibilities for specific work areas, I like to think of myself as the behind-the-scenes person trying to align timing, information, opportunities and decision-making to develop a path forward and get stuff done. While not intentional, I have spent most of my career facilitating workstreams or executive decision-making on topics where I am not the subject matter expert. Having an outsider’s perspective helps me stay out of the weeds, hone in on the most salient issues or concerns at hand, and draw out broader connections, risks and impacts to develop a more informed, scalable and systemic response.” While this explanation may help clarify her role to some, she knows her parents may still not understand what she does. To which it may be easier to just respond: “Yes, mom and dad. I am the Chief of a very small number of staff.”

Jen lives in the Bryant neighborhood in Northeast Seattle with her husband Vince and her two children, Olivia (14), Marcus (12) and dog, Remy (2). Pre-COVID, they spent most of their free time watching their kids’ soccer, basketball and ultimate frisbee games. However, now with their family time freed up, they spend most weekends thinking about the yardwork, closet cleaning, home projects or hiking adventures they should do instead. Three-quarters of the family loves traveling; the other quarter barely tolerates it. This means the family’s traveling habits are typically set by the family member who does most of the household planning (i.e., Jen), so yes, traveling is one of their hobbies.

When reflecting on what Jen would like to accomplish at City Light, she shared: “I absolutely believe that our time here in life and at work is very precious, so for whatever issue I work on, I want to add value to the organization and to customers. At the same time, I think it’s super important to keep everything in perspective, have a little fun when doing good, and definitely enjoy and cultivate the people relationships we form along the way. So, to me, how I judge my time here will boil down to two things: added value and people connections.”

Seattle City (spot)Light: Kelly Haren

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Kelly Haren has been a dedicated member of the City Light team for 20 years. “I’m the Generation Supervisor at Cedar Falls and Tolt hydro projects where I support the crew and operations at both sites,” Kelly shared. “My responsibilities include coordinating projects with utility divisions, facilitating training and safety programs, and supervising activities that impact fisheries, deal with environmental issues or influence our dam and public safety programs. I also work with City Departments, like Seattle Public Utilities, for operations planning.”

Originally from Idaho, Kelly moved to the Seattle area after joining the US Coast Guard, where he was stationed in Seattle and Astoria. “I met my wife during that time, and we’ve lived in the Northwest ever since.”

In this week’s (spot)Light, Kelly talks more about his life pre-City Light, his family, and more about his work at the utility.

“I spent a couple of years at the University of Idaho before joining the Coast Guard. In college, I studied engineering, basic science, and math. In the Coast Guard, I received experience and education in many engineering and mechanical fundamentals but became an electrician after completing my trade schooling and necessary hours. I was attracted to City Light because of its apprenticeship opportunities, the ability to support my family better, and the varied types of work and opportunities the City would provide throughout my career.”

“I live in the Auburn area on a small lake and enjoy being on the water, boating and relaxing! My favorite activity is traveling with my wife; Hawaii, Cabo, and the Florida Keys are a few of our favorite destinations. For hobbies, I love golfing, boating, and taking the RV out for weekend getaways. I also have four young grandchildren with whom I enjoy spending as much time as I can!”

“What I love most about working at City Light is the many opportunities I’ve had in my career, up to this point. I started in the Constructor Apprenticeship, worked as a journey-level Constructor in Substations downtown, and transferred to the Generation team, where I learned about hydro operations. I also assisted our Apprenticeship Office as a Craft Advisor. Now I can apply all my previous experience to my current role as a Generation Supervisor. City Light has been such a great place to build a career and provide for my family.”

Seattle City Light Continues to Meet I-937 Requirements

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The Energy Independence Act, known as Initiative 937, was approved by Washington State voters in 2006. It requires state electric utilities serving 25,000 or more customers to obtain at least 15 percent of their electricity from new renewable resources by 2020 and undertake all cost-effective energy conservation.

For energy conservation, I-937 requires each covered utility to identify its achievable, cost-effective conservation potential over a 10-year period, starting in 2010-2011. Utilities must update those assessments at least every two years.

Seattle City Light is meeting or exceeding each of these requirements, a seen in excerpts of the report below.

Summary of Achievement and Targets (MWh)
 2018-2019
Biennial		 2020-2021 Biennial
Potential 2018-2027              791,028Potential 2020-2029          724,189
Target 2018-2019              214,620Target 2020-2021          186,325
Achievement 2018-2019              286,213  
Excess (Deficit)                71,593  

2018-2019 Target Setting
In order to meet the I-937 target setting requirements, City Light used the Utility Analysis Option (Conservation Potential Assessment) to establish its biennial target and ten-year potential.  The Conservation Potential Assessment (CPA) identifies City Light’s achievable and cost-effective energy conservation potential over the next twenty years.  This study identified a biennial energy conservation potential of 214,620 MWh (24.5 aMW) for 2018-2019 and a ten-year conservation potential of 791,028 MWh (90.3 aMW).  The Seattle City Council adopted these targets with Resolution #31765.

2018 – 2019 Achievement
City Light is reporting 286,213 MWh against a target of 214,620 MWh. The energy savings reported are reflective of busbar savings (site savings plus applicable transmission & distribution factor).  There is an exception where site savings are being reported; the Residential Energy Savings includes behavior-related programs (OPower/Oracle) that are estimates and are reported as site savings.  A formal third-party evaluation of the energy savings will be completed in the near future to substantiate the energy savings. 

The NEEA-related energy savings includes the direct savings from SCL’s funding of NEEA and the indirect savings allocated to SCL by BPA.

Read the whole report here.

Community (spot)Light: Bob Weeks

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Meet Seattle City Light volunteer, Bob Weeks. Bob, along with the occasional help of family and friends, has spent the past year working tirelessly within a utility transmission corridor next to the Duwamish River. During his weekly visits, he mulches native plants, cuts back and digs invasive Himalayan Blackberries as well as other noxious weeds.

City Light volunteer, Bob Weeks

Bob’s site is adjacent to Tukwila’s Cecil B. Moses Park and part of North Wind’s Weir, a habitat restoration project on the Duwamish River. The stewardship of this site began with Bob’s sister, Pam. She began removing non-native blackberries and planting native plants several years ago as part of a volunteer party for her 70th birthday celebration. Last fall, Bob noticed the native plants that Pam and her party planted were being overgrown with blackberries. As a result, Bob picked up a shovel (technically, a Pulaski), clippers, and got to work.

Bob’s restoration work began as a child when he dug up non-native blackberries at his family home in West Seattle, replacing them with native conifer trees. Sixty years later, most of them are still thriving. As young boys, Bob and his brother played on Harbor Island while their father worked on a boat at the nearby Jim Clark Marina. Later he canoed around the lower Duwamish and began exploring upriver by kayak. Eventually he took a Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition tour of the river led by B.J. Cummings.

His connection to the Duwamish continues through his restoration work. While volunteering at his site, he enjoys seeing Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Herons, King Fishers and other birds and critters that grace the Duwamish River. Freeing native plants from the blackberry overstory and adding new native plants serves the Duwamish River and its native salmon runs. Bob’s stewardship is motivated by his appreciation of the Duwamish River’s history and restoration efforts. Thank you so much for your time, energy and dedication, Bob!

Seattle City Light Releases 2019 Contact Voltage Survey Results

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In late 2019, Seattle City Light completed its 10th consecutive year conducting contact voltage testing. With the help of Osmose Utilities Services and Utility Testing and Geographic Information Systems (UTGIS), City Light was able to identify and repair seven instances, six City Light-owned assets and one privately-owned system, 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. Both contractors supported 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 significantly fewer than those in 2018, when 17 instances were discovered by this survey testing. Testing in 2018 also identified 17 instances of contact voltage of less than 30 volts, which were also responded to and either repaired or de-energized. Over the ten years of survey testing, no accidents or injuries have resulted from this method of testing.

City Light is one of the few utilities in the country to regularly test its equipment for contact voltage. Watch to see how this industry-leading safety testing takes place.

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.

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, visit seattle.gov/light/streetlight.

The full report can be found here: 2019 Contact Voltage Survey Results (PDF).