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Thursday, September 02, 2010
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Whatcom County

substation icon

Puget Sound Energy substation project


Semiahmoo substation




Summer 2010 project updates
  • Construction of phase I began in September 2009 and was completed on March 9, 2010
  • We are currently in the permitting portion of phase II
  • We expect construction of phase II to start by late summer 2010 and be completed by the end of 2010

Project overview

PSE plans to build a new electric substation and associated transmission lines at 4390 Birch Bay-Lynden Road in Blaine. We are building our Semiahmoo substation to meet increasing demand for electricity in Blaine, and the Blaine and Birch Bay Urban Growth areas of Whatcom County. In addition, our new substation will increase electric system reliability and provide greater system flexibility, resulting in fewer construction- and maintenance-related outages. When complete, our substation will include one 25 megavolt ampere (MVA) transformer with the space to add a second 25 MVA transformer, allowing PSE to double the capacity in the future without changing the substation footprint. In the first phase of the project, we constructed the substation and .6 miles of new 115 kV transmission line along the south side of Birch Bay Lynden Road. In the second phase of the project, we will construct .5 miles of new 115 kV transmission line along the north side of Birch Bay Lynden Road.


Download full-size map

Project map
(164 KB PDF)

What is a substation?

Substations are critical links in the electricity distribution system, containing utility circuit protection, voltage regulation, and equipment that steps down higher voltage to lower voltage. Before reaching homes and businesses, power is routed through our transmission system to a substation where it is changed to a lower voltage that can be utilized by customers.

Committed to keeping you informed

PSE will continue to provide updates to the community. We will notify residents and businesses near the project area when construction will occur. We aim to complete the work with as little disruption as possible.

Download information

Download these PDF files for more detail on PSE's Semiahmoo substation project.
News release (03/09/2010)
News release (09/02/2009)
Construction notice, August 2009 (130 KB PDF)
Community meeting invite, February 2008  (99 KB PDF)
Fact sheet (66 KB PDF) 
Project map, revised Feb. 26, 2010 (164 KB PDF)

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