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Heavy rain, isolated thunderstorms and strong wind gusts are expected from today into Tuesday, with the highest risk early Tuesday morning through Tuesday afternoon. These conditions may cause power outages.

Many trees are fully flushed with leaves. In stiff and gusty winds, that means they can topple more easily and damage power equipment, and branches can take flight and hit power lines.

Our crews are preparing and ready to respond as conditions allow. If outages occur, it can take at least 24 hours after the weather has passed to provide an initial estimated restoration time. Our first step is damage assessment—understanding the extent of damage and what repairs need to be made—once it is safe to do so.


alert 

Safety first:

  • Never touch or go within 35 feet of downed power lines because they might be energized.
  • Call PSE at 1-888-225-5773 or 911 to report problems.
  • If you’re using portable heaters, keep them away from furniture, draperies and other flammable materials.
  • Always use flashlights instead of candles.
  • Be aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning: Never install or use a generator indoors or in enclosed or partially enclosed areas, even those that are ventilated.

Mercer Island electric upgrades

Aerial view of evergreen trees and rooftops facing a deep blue expanse of Lake Washington meeting evergreen Mercer Island covering the horizon.

View of the north cable crossing area from the Enatai Cable Station

Project updates

  • As this work is in its early stages, you may notice PSE staff and contractors in the project area conducting fieldwork, such as soil testing or surveying existing infrastructure.

Project overview

The electric infrastructure that serves Mercer Island is aging and needs to be replaced to create a more reliable and resilient power grid.

PSE plans to replace the underwater electric cables that serve Mercer Island, increase the cables’ capacity, and make upgrades to the four cable stations located at each end of the cables (see project area to the right). By investing in these improvements, PSE will:

  • Minimize the risk of outages and unplanned repairs
  • Support increasing electrification and the island’s future energy needs
  • Increase service reliability for customers
  • Strengthen the system’s resilience against severe weather

To help ensure continued electric service during construction, PSE will install a temporary overhead transmission line along the south side of I-90 before beginning construction on the underwater cable crossings. This temporary line adds redundancy to the electric system, reducing the risk of outages during construction.

Map of Mercer Island showing island in Lake Washington and including surrounding highways

Project area (Click to download)

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Process and timeline

Chart of Mercer Island electric project timeline

PSE is currently working on engineering and permitting and conducting initial outreach about this project. We aim to share more information about construction timing when we are further along with the design.

Throughout this project, we will keep the community informed of our progress, opportunities to engage, and potential impacts.

Contact us

We welcome your questions and comments!
Please contact:
1-888-404-8773
Major.Projects@pse.com

Learn more