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News and Updates from Seattle City Light

[#FlashbackFriday] 1969 City Light Holiday Mailer

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1969 City Light Holiday Mailer

Talk about a blast from the past! A member of City Light’s Power Marketing team recently found this holiday mailer from 1969 in a stack of documents. The manila cover and carbon paper interior include scrumptious recipes like Brisk Cherry Salad and Quick Lemonade Bread (and yes, one of the ingredients is frozen lemonade concentrate) along with beautifully designed kitchen appliances and holiday-themed characters. The back cover encouraged the reader to consider adding a “major electric appliance” to their holiday wishlist. This (at the time) annual piece was developed for City Light’s Home Economics Division and included the venerable Mary Norris’ signature of approval (read about Mary’s lasting legacy at City Light here!).

Check out our Flickr album above and tell us which recipe you’re want to make for your next holiday gathering!

Seattle City Light Hosts STEAM in Power Workshop at Lighting Design Lab

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2018 SPIN Girls Event

On Saturday, Dec. 8, City Light hosted 25 young women from the SPIN Girls group for our first ever STEAM in Power Workshop. Our Community Outreach team created the program, partnering with the Lighting Design Lab to host the event and with STEM Paths Innovation Network (SPIN), a Seattle non-profit dedicated to creating equity and opportunities for youth to succeed in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM).

The interactive workshop included a tour of the lab, a brief introduction to City Light and our mission, an Electricity 101 lesson, hands-on building of electrical circuits and a meet-and-greet activity featuring 16 women from across the utility who work in a variety of STEAM fields, including engineering, skilled trades, environmental , customer care, financial services and the technical arts.

Haya Muñoz, SPIN Girls program manager, shared that “these young ladies are dedicated to learning more about STEAM. With thoughtfully planned Field Days like this, they are getting an opportunity to learn how City Light uses STEM and to see women working in the STEM fields. The hands-on activity of learning basic circuitry showed these young ladies how it works and how it connects into our day-to-day lives. Partnerships such as these are valuable as they provide opportunities and support for empowering young ladies in our community to be a scientist, mathematician, electrician, or any STEAM-related careers; to show them the possibilities of what they can be and what they can achieve.”

 

How to Keep Your Holidays Merry & Bright

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The winter holiday season has arrived meaning it’s time to unpack that box of lights and decorations. Before you begin to deck your dwelling, here are a few tips that will keep you and yours safe while helping you conserve energy!

Graphic of tips on how to conserve energy.

If you’re not the Clark Griswold type, walk through a wonderland of 700,000 twinkling lights at this year’s WildLights at the Woodland Park Zoo! This year, City Light is sponsoring this annual event and its newest addition: the giant Light Bright! Visit zoo.org/wildlights to learn more! See you there!

Save Energy With These Recipes From Cookin’ With Kilowatts!

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No matter what your traditional Thanksgiving menu includes, odds are your oven and stove does the heavy lifting. Not only do they take time to use, but they also cost more per kilowatt-hour compared to other alternative cooking methods.

This summer, we challenged all home cooks, foodies or anyone who cares about the environment to submit a favorite recipe to our annual Cookin’ with Kilowatts contest that utilized a cleaner, greener more energy efficient cooking method than a traditional oven or stovetop. This year’s Cookin’ with Kilowatts Cookbook is full of innovative and delicious recipes that won’t take up precious real estate in your oven or increase your energy usage. Here are a few of our favorite low-cost, low-energy recipes that are perfect to add to your Thanksgiving Day menu or even your weekly menu rotation at home.

Let’s start with the most important meal of the day: breakfast!

Speedy Breakfast Burrito

Submitted by Courtney Y. of Seattle

2 slices of bacon
3 lbs fresh tomatoes, sun-ripened, organic heirloom varieties
1 small jalapeño
1 whole Walla Walla sweet onion
12 cloves fresh garlic
1 small bunch cilantro
1/2 C fresh lime juice
1/2 C red wine vinegar

Place bacon on a plate between a double layer of paper towels and
microwave for 2 minutes or until desired crispiness. It will continue to
crisp after cooking. Set aside.
Crack the egg into a 4-inch ramekin or plastic microwave egg cooking
container. Add milk and use a fork to scramble. If using a ramekin,
cover with a small plate and microwave for 90 seconds. Set aside.
Place tortilla on a plate, sprinkle cheese on top and microwave
10-15 seconds until cheese is melted.
Top tortilla with cooked egg and bacon and salsa/hot sauce as desired.
Wrap and enjoy!
Note: remove containers from microwave carefully as they can become
very hot.

 

 

 

Here’s a delicious dish that’s perfect as a Thanksgiving side or a weeknight meal!

Chick2 Curry

Submitted by Elizabeth M. Shoreline

Photo of Elizabeth M. the winner of the Cookin with Kilowatts contest in chefs hat

Elizabeth M. placed first in this year’s Cookin with Kilowatts contest. Congrats!

1 large chicken breast, cut to 1/2 inch cubes
2 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 T yellow curry powder
2 15 oz cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes with juice
1 14.5 oz can corn, rinsed
1 C vegetable or chicken broth
2 tsp of salt
Dash of cayenne spice (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
2 T cilantro leaves, washed and chopped

Directions

Preheat Instant Pot®, and select sauté.
Once hot, add the oil, onion, and chicken pieces. Stir periodically, cooking for about 2 minutes.
Add bell pepper, garlic and sauté about 2 minutes more until onions are translucent and starting to brown.
Add the curry powder, stir.
Add the chickpeas, tomato with juice, corn, broth, and salt.
Stir in cayenne (if desired).
Secure the Instant Pot® lid and ensure that the vent it turned to “sealing.”
Cancel the sauté setting. Select manual, and set to cook at high pressure for 7 minutes.
Once cooking is complete, use a natural release. This will take about 30 minutes.
Open lid, stir. Stir in lime juice and cilantro leaves.

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget to save room for dessert!

Chocolate Upside-Down Cake

Submitted by Kine Y. of Seattle

1 1/2 C of all-purpose flour1/2 C white sugar
4 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 C vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 T vinegar
3/4–1 C water
Powdered sugar, berries, or any
other desired toppings

Add all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl—flour, sugar, cocoa
powder, baking soda, salt (optional) and cinnamon.
Mix ingredients with a whisk.
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl—oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water.
Pour the mixture into the rice cooker.
Now, depending on which rice cooker you use, the cook times will be
different. It took me about 30 minutes to cook mine.
When the toothpick comes out clean, bring the bowl out of the rice
cooker to cool for 5 minutes.
Flip the cake and add whatever toppings you please. I added berries,
powdered sugar, and shredded coconut.
Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

These are just a few of our favorite recipes! Click here to read through the entire 2019 Cookin’ with Kilowatts Cookbook.

Apecial thank you to our 2018 Cookin’ with Kilowatts sponsors!

Thank you to our sponsors: Uwajimaya and Sea Wolf Bakers

Scam Alert: Don’t Fall Victim to Callers Demanding Payment

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Image with Scam Alert Warning

Seattle City Light has received reports that scammers are at it again. One of the current scam tactics involves contacting customers by phone, pretending to be employees of City Light and demanding payment. If you receive a recorded message or a live call from someone demanding payment right away, hang up and call us directly. City Light will always direct customers to the secure online payment system at www.seattle.gov/light or to call (206) 684-3000 to make a payment.

When a customer is past due on a bill, City Light takes multiple steps to notify the customer before shutting off the power. City Light employees will never ask for payment in person and will always be able to produce identification if informing a customer in person of a past-due bill.

Scammers may demand thousands of dollars and threaten to shut off power if payment isn’t made immediately. Vulnerable residents may be specially targeted by scammers including non-English speaking individuals, elderly people and small-business owners.

Check out the video below from City Light and the Seattle Police Department, reminding customers to protect their personal financial information to avoid becoming a victim of scammers posing as City Light employees.

Learn more about how to avoid becoming a victim at www.seattle.gov/light/EndScams.

Innovative Pilot Project Seeks to Grow a Forest More Resilient to Climate Change

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An innovative pilot project will replant portions of logged land now owned by Seattle City Light to grow a new forest that could be more resilient to climate change.

Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and its partners – City Light, Seattle Public Utilities and the Northwest Natural Resource Group — received a $140,000 grant to reforest portions of the Stossel Creek area in the Tolt watershed northeast of Carnation. The grant money is being provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society through its Climate Adaptation Fund, a program supported and established by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

“Stossel Creek presents a unique opportunity to test innovative, new habitat restoration methods designed to increase resiliency to climate change for Western Washington forests,” said Jon Hoekstra, executive director of the Greenway Trust.

A volunteer from Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust clearing invasive brush.

Trees on the 154-acre site were harvested by a private land company in 2012. Since then, the site has experienced new plant growth, but with few trees. Invasive species have taken hold in some areas. City Light purchased the land in 2015 as part of its Endangered Species Act Early Action Plan to conserve and enhance habitat for steelhead.

Crews and volunteers will reforest the site with native conifer species, such as Douglas Fir and Western redcedar. Instead of using only subvarieties that are native to Washington, this project also will include trees sourced from southwestern Oregon that are better adapted to warmer temperatures and drier summers.

“The climate of the Stossel Creek area is projected to be similar to southwest Oregon’s by the end of the 21st century,” explains Crystal Raymond, a climate adaptation specialist who helped secure the grant while she worked for City Light. “Therefore, the trees adapted to southwestern Oregon are expected to be better suited to the Stossel Creek site as the climate warms. By increasing the tree genetic and species diversity, the site’s resiliency to climate change will increase over time.”

Work to control invasive plant species and site preparation at Stossel Creek will begin this spring and planting new trees will begin in the fall. After planting, the team will have several opportunities to monitor success and share lessons learned from the project.

This pilot project will inform future climate-adapted restoration practices for lands owned by City Light, Seattle Public Utilities and other owners in the region. The long-term goal of the reforestation effort is to establish a diverse forest that will be adapted to the climate of the mid to late 21st century.

Recently, KING 5 visited the site to cover the project. Click here to watch the story featuring City Light’s Denise Krownbell.

Four Ways to Stay Cool This Fourth of July

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There’s nothing better than Seattle in the summertime. But with temperatures approaching 80 degrees this Fourth of July, you may be looking for ways to beat the heat. Here are a few tips from the U.S. Department of Energy* on how to keep cool and conserve energy without breaking the bank! Check out this month’s issue of Light Reading for more innovative ways to conserve energy this summer from planting a tree to using your slow cooker. Click here to take a look!

Seattle City Light and Seattle Fire Department Partner to Address Network Vault Fires

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  Members of the Vault Response Team demonstrating addressing a vault fire.

Credit: K. Kennedy

 

At an event and demonstration today with the Seattle Fire Department and Seattle City Light, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the first-in-the-nation partnership today between Seattle City Light and the Seattle Fire Department to more effectively fight fires in underground electrical vaults.

“Seattle has always been at the leading edge, and thanks to this innovative partnership, Seattle is now at the leading edge of fighting fires that are a danger to the public, our infrastructure, and our economy,” said Mayor Durkan during a demonstration of the new approach at City Light’s North Service Center. “This is the kind of collaboration and innovation we need as we work to deliver essential services, protect the public, and provide reliable electricity that powers Seattle. I am grateful to the men and women of the Seattle Fire Department and Seattle City Light who have made this vision for partnership a reality and who put themselves in harm’s way to limit the impact of these dangerous fires.”

The event included members of the Vault Response Team, which is comprised of specially trained Seattle Firefighters as well as executive members from both departments and other advocates of this partnership.

Last month, SFD Chief Harold Scoggins and City Light Interim General Manager and CEO Jim Baggs reached an agreement to solidify the partnership between the two departments and the Vault Response Team. The 48 members of the Vault Response Team will be continually trained to safely address the public safety needs resulting from network vault fire incidents. City Light will provide specialized supplies and equipment to treat these fires along with updated intel on City Light’s network maps.

Fire Chief Harold Scoggins praised the partnership for its innovation and what it means for other departments across the country.

“Vault fires create dangerous situations in confined spaces. Before this team was created, standard procedure was to keep the area clear and wait for the fire to burn itself out. This partnership, which takes an offensive approach, is a major advancement in our field and is an example that other energy providers and fire departments want to learn from. We are proud and thankful to have this vital resource here in Seattle.”

Electrical vault fires can be caused by something as simple as a cigarette butt landing on a pile of dried leaves or as critical as an arc flash created during maintenance. Their impact is costly and can be dangerous to the public and the firefighters extinguishing them. Within an instant, the pressure of a vault fire can launch a 300-pound utility cover up to three stories. To further complicate matters, these fires may cause large-scale power outages.

The fire department and City Light are deploying a new technology that can effectively and efficiently extinguish vault fires. With a financial contribution from City Light, the fire department revived an older truck that was scheduled for decommission to address these kinds of fires.

Armed with carbon dioxide canisters, Seattle firefighters can now remove the utility hole cover, insert a metal wand and inject the vault with carbon dioxide while covering the opening with a fire-resistant tarp. This removes the oxygen from the area, snuffing the fire by robbing it of oxygen. It is an offensive approach that keeps the fire from spreading throughout the entire vault system. Once the fire is out and the vault is cleared of smoke and carbon dioxide, City Light can de-energize electrical equipment, making the area safe for crews to begin repairs.

“This partnership enhances the safety of our both departments’ employees. We are exchanging information on safety practices and institutional knowledge while training together to ensure that these fires are extinguished safely and efficiently,” Baggs said. “Not only will this process reduce the amount of damage from these fires, but it can also greatly reduce the repair and outage time. This partnership is an insurance policy for our customers, the economic drivers in Seattle’s business core and for the public servants who address these fires.”

This technology reduces the potentially disastrous effect of these kinds of fires. While this method is crucial, the partnership between the fire department and City Light is the key ingredient to ensure its success. For Seattle Fire Captain Chris Greene, the technology behind extinguishing these fires is only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

“There are a variety of great products available to handle high-voltage emergencies, but without a partnership, fire departments and utilities are missing a key component,” explains Greene. “CO2 and other chemical extinguishers are in fact effective, but it’s an engineered solution to a problem that can have significant impacts. The true solution is a foundational relationship with the energy provider like City Light that builds long before a fire begins.”

National Electrical Safety Month: Power Lines on Trees

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Power lines on trees

 

Some would say that spring is simply the most delightful time of the year here in Seattle (and frankly, it’s hard to disagree!). As trees and shrubs begin to blossom, it may be tempting to go outside and start trimming. Before you break out the shears, there are a few safety tips to keep in mind. We reached out to City Light’s arboriculturist and resident tree buff Heidi Narte for tips on how to keep your pines, maples and family safe around power lines.

 

Here are a few of Heidi’s handy safety tips:

  • Keep kids safe – make sure their play activities don’t include trees near power lines. Trees touching power lines may become energized, causing a dangerous situation for kids climbing in them, swinging in them or otherwise playing in them.

 

  • Heading out into your yard to prune trees and shrubs? Make sure you, your tools and the branches you want to prune are a safe distance from power lines. If the branches you’re pruning or your tools make contact with a power line, you could receive an electrical shock injury which can result in significant burns or even death. Branches, tools and you should be at least 10 feet from distribution power lines and 21 feet from high voltage transmission lines.

 

  • See a tree or branch touching a power line? Trees touching power lines may be energized and safety hazards. If you’re not sure whether a tree could cause an issue, give us a call and we’ll check it out!

 

If you have questions about power lines near trees, email SCLVegetation@seattle.gov or call (206) 386-1733 to check in with an arborist. For more information on how to keep your trees safe around power lines, check out the latest issue of Light Reading!

Women in Power Hosts Event to Press for Progress

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On Thursday, more than 240 members of the City of Seattle community attended the Women in Power: Press for Progress event. This event celebrated International Women’s Day and powerful women everywhere.

The event took place in the Bertha Knight Landes Room, named after Seattle’s first female mayor. Opening speaker Mayor Jenny Durkan, the second female mayor more than 90 years later, recognized the significance of the space and the moment.

The morning panel discussion event included women from across the City of Seattle including: Deputy Mayor Shefali Ranganathan, Interim Chief of Police Carmen Best, and Acting Director Seattle IT Tracye Cantrell. The discussion, moderated by City Light Director Michelle Vargo, surrounded the importance of mentorship and encouraged the audience to amplify one another throughout their work. Each panelist contributed their unique perspective from their experiences and departments.

The afternoon panel, moderated by City Light Director Maura Brueger, featured four of Seattle’s six female city councilmembers: Lorena González, Lisa Herbold, Debora Juarez and Teresa Mosqueda. The panelists focused on the importance of being heard and becoming agents of change within their spaces.

City Light’s Sarah Davis, who founded and chairs the volunteer Women in Power group, was thrilled with the event and is excited to see where the conversation goes from here.

“Today is a testament to what we can accomplish when we work together,” explains Davis. “I hope people left the room inspired, excited, and with a desire to do something. Actually, I want people to say ‘yes’ to do two things: one thing for themselves, and a second that will benefit someone else.”

A special thank you to the committee who made this event a reality: Sarah Davis, Stefanie Johnson, Koryn Kennedy, Holly Krejci, Courtney Adams, Kathryn Mork, Bianca Smith, Uzma Siddiqi, Martha Hobson, Stefanie Guzman and Dana Robinson-Slote.

2018 Women in Power: Press for Progress

More than 200 viewers watched the event via Skype. Click here to watch the event in its entirety.

About Women in Power
Created in late 2016, Women in Power (WIP) is a City Light employee-run group whose mission is to foster professional development, better support one another, and address unique issues women face in the workplace. In addition to bi-monthly programming and the International Women’s Day event, WIP recently launched a 6-month pilot mentoring program. WIP is open to all City Light employees (both women and men).