County-wide power outages coming up in September

||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT CO-OP |||

COUNTY WIDE PLANNED OUTAGES: September 25, 26, 27
Multiple overnight outages for maintenance

All of San Juan County will be affected by planned power outages necessary to make critical repairs to our transmission system on the mainland. The repairs will take place overnight on:

• September 25 th , 10 pm – 6 am (09/26)
• September 26 th , 10 pm – 6 am (09/27)
• September 27 th , 10 pm – 6 am (09/28)

Puget Sound Energy (PSE), who provides transmission power through Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to San Juan County, notified OPALCO that they need to replace three poles, rebuild three more poles, and conduct other critical maintenance work. For the safety of the crews, they will need to have the transmission lines to San Juan County de-energized.

This work is located between the PSE Burrows Bay Substation and the BPA Fidalgo Substation (Washington Park Area). PSE will have multiple crews conducting the work which will be completed over three nights. Each outage is scheduled for an eight-hour period of 10 pm – 6 am during the nights of September 25th, 26 th , and 27th.

Each outage will start with thirty minutes of switching to de-energize and make the site safe to work and end with thirty minutes of switching to remove all safety measures and re-energize. While the power is off, the OPALCO crew will utilize the opportunity to do maintenance work on our local system.

OPALCO consumers should set a reminder for Monday night 9/25, Tuesday night 9/26 and Wednesday night 09/27. Turn sensitive equipment off at the power strip or unplug. In the morning, turn equipment on gradually to aid in power load pick up. OPALCO members are responsible for their own equipment and encouraged to install surge protection to safeguard electronic, computer and other sensitive equipment and appliances.

Now is a great time to make sure you’re prepared for winter outages. OPALCO’s system is strong and its line crews skillful and ready – however, outages happen and islanders must be prepared. Take time to get ready for storm season outages now, including your plan to access outage information (SmartHub, phone message, website, social media – outage buddy off island with internet service), assemble a kit of the things you need to keep you comfortable during power outages, and do maintenance on any battery or generator backup systems.

Check our website for outage checklists and other key information for making sure you are ready this winter at www.opalco.com/safety.

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is our member-owned cooperative electric utility, serving more than 11,400 members on 20 islands in San Juan County. OPALCO provides electricity that is 97% greenhouse-gas free and is generated predominantly by hydroelectric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937.