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We’re preparing for another round of heavy rain and strong wind beginning early Monday and going through much of the day. We expect to see numerous outages due to the combination of rain, wind and saturated and unstable soil.

We understand how difficult it is to be without power. We have rested crews when possible, staged equipment and stocked trucks. We are also proactively opening local storm bases and our Emergency Coordination Center and are bringing in crews from outside the area. Crews will remain in the field to assess damage and restore power as long as it is safe. If your power goes out, we’ll work around the clock to restore it as quickly and safely as possible.

Visit PSE’s Alerts and Advisories page for information on our response efforts: pse.com/alerts.


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.

Report and track power outages online

WSDOT Control Zone Mitigation Program

Puget Sound Energy reliability project

Program overview

This program is part of the Washington State Strategic Highway Safety Plan, better known as Target Zero, which aims to have zero deaths and serious injuries on Washington’s roadways by 2030. To learn more about Target Zero, please visit https://targetzero.com/.

PSE is working to improve public safety as well as protect the integrity of its electrical infrastructure by relocating power poles farther off of state roadways. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has established the highway “control zone” (which is determined by the speed limit, traffic volume and contour of the shoulder) to enhance traffic safety. Per this WSDOT standard, the control zone should be free of obstructions to decrease the likelihood of cars coming into contact with objects adjacent to the roadway. PSE’s pole-relocation initiative is intended to bring poles into compliance with WSDOT’s control zone standard, and further decrease the possibility of cars coming into contact with power poles.

PSE estimates as part of this public-safety initiative, the utility will relocate between 5,000 and 7,000 of its 14,000 poles currently located along state highways. Under a 2012 agreement between PSE and WSDOT, PSE has set a target of 10 years to relocate all of its power poles outside the control zone, or find an alternate mitigation approach approved by WSDOT.

Stretches of highway that have experienced the most accidents involving power poles are expected to have first priority for relocation. We will provide more details on scope, timing and prioritization planning as soon as we have them. Visit the Washington State Department of Transportation website for more information about WSDOT’s control zone requirements.

Contact us

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