Puget Sound Energy Maxwelton Substation and Transmission Line Projects

Fire Weather Forecasted 

Due to current weather forecasts, a Red Flag Warning has been issued for Kittitas Valley. As part of PSE’s wildfire safe operations, we will be turning on system settings that are more sensitive to potential hazards. These sensitive settings will be activated Friday morning and will remain in effect as long as elevated wildfire risk conditions persist.

Enhanced Powerline Settings are designed to help keep you safe, but they may result in unplanned power outages.

This is NOT a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), where we proactively turn off power in advance of severe weather.

We understand the impact unexpected outages can have on our customers, so we've added additional staffing for our first responders and our operations center. For more information or to report a power outage, visit PSE’s Outage map.

Due to numerous wildfires in eastern and central Washington, air quality across the Kittitas Valley is currently within the unhealthy range. Wildfire smoke can seriously affect health, especially for high-risk individuals. To learn more about how to protect yourself and others, please visit the Washington State Department of Health page on staying safe from smoke.

Maxwelton Substation/Langley Tap electric projects

Project overview

To increase reliability for our customers on south Whidbey Island, PSE completed construction on a new 25 megavolt amperes (MVA) substation in 2016 between SR 525, Craw Road and Ariel Way.

To complement the new substation, this project included other system improvements that were all completed by 2020:

Craw Road undergrounding

To avoid running overhead power lines across a state highway, PSE converted a short section of existing overhead distribution line to underground along Maxwelton Road, beginning at the Craw Road intersection, continuing underneath SR 525 and ending at Whidbey Island High School.

Langley 15/16 feeder extension

PSE upgraded the Langley 15/16 feeder extension, an existing single-phase low-voltage line, to a higher capacity. This upgrade provides additional capacity that allows the new substation to back up electric load normally served by Langley Substation, greatly improving electric service reliability in Langley.

Langley Tap pole replacement

To further strengthen our system, PSE replaced the aging wooden poles of the Langley Tap, an existing transmission line currently running from the Langley Substation to the new Maxwelton Substation.

Maxwell Town Substation