Puget Sound Energy reassures customers’ power will be restored by Saturday amid second storm threat

WASHINGTON — Officials with Puget Sound Energy reassured customers in western Washington without power Thursday night that power would be restored by Saturday despite the second disruptive storm threat on Friday. The first storm damaged PSE electrical poles and wires earlier this week, causing widespread power outages.

“To our customers without power: We know you are frustrated,” PSE said in the letter. “The limited information we have been able to provide online, and the fact that you do not yet see our crews working in your neighborhood, is causing you to wonder what is happening.”

According to an X post from Puget Sound Energy, the strength of Tuesday’s windstorm matched that of a hurricane, causing massive damage to the energy company’s high-voltage transmission system. The system includes poles and wires that carry electricity to communities from where it is produced.

The company said it cannot restore power to several neighborhoods if those lines aren’t fixed, adding that most of the work takes place in hard-to-reach areas.

PSE said it has nearly 145 crews working around the clock, which is about 3.5 times what it usually has at its disposal for these types of extreme weather events and damage. More than 1,000 support personnel from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Canada are working to restore power to hospitals and schools first and then to the rest of the community.

Most of its customers can anticipate power to be restored by Saturday at noon, PSE said. Many people will have power restored before then.

However, PSE said it doesn’t have information for the hardest hit area, King County, where the system also had damage from the storm. PSE said as soon as it has estimated restoration times for the King County area that details will be provided immediately.

Here’s an update on the progress PSE has made as of Thursday night, and continued efforts to restore power:

• PSE restored 34 substations with 15 remaining out of service. Substations serve about 5,000 customers each.
• Distribution lines were fixed and customers will have their power restored when the substation is energized.
• Ground patrols will identify the location of distribution damage and complete the needed repairs.
• PSE restored 5,300 customers per hour.
• More than 315,000 customers including more than 60 schools have their power restored.
• 70 tree crews removed dangerous, downed debris so line crews can restore power, as of Thursday morning.

“We are closely watching additional windy weather forecasted to hit our region Friday,” PSE said. “This may impact our ability to restore customers in the expected timeframe and cause additional outages. We will continue to work around the clock in full force until power is restored to every single customer. Please be respectful of the workers doing everything they can to restore your power. There is nothing more important than the safety of our communities, customers, and employees.”

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