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Puget Sound Energy details wildfire-prevention tools, possible public-safety outages in Kittitas County
Summary
Puget Sound Energy told Kittitas County commissioners it finished much of its spring wildfire prevention work, is adding cameras and weather stations, and said a portable-battery pilot for medically vulnerable customers was approved by the UTC.
Corinne Vandegren, a Puget Sound Energy representative, updated Kittitas County commissioners on the utility’s wildfire-prevention work and reliability projects, and warned some measures could cause temporary outages for customers.
Vandegren told the commissioners the company has been finishing visual assessments and clearing trees within 25 feet of distribution and transmission lines, and has been replacing poles and aging wire. “We’re also installing some new tools in the area. So we have 6 more Pano AI smoke detecting cameras,” she said, adding those camera alerts will be shared with the Department of Natural Resources and local fire districts.
The update matters because the extra monitoring and line work are intended to reduce wildfire ignition risk in the county while also improving situational awareness for emergency responders. Vandegren said the utility is also adding four weather stations this year and already has nine in place, and that the data feeds into wildfire models used by the company’s meteorologist to produce three- to five-day outlooks.
Vandegren described operational changes that can affect customers. “We can do enhanced power line settings…that’s basically turning off all automatic reclosing. So if there is any sort of contact that section of line would be automatically de-energized, and we'd have to get crews to go out and visually inspect the line before turning it back on. That could result in some unexpected power outages this summer for customers,” she said. She said the company has a public-safety power shutoff program in place and would prefer not to use it, but said it remains an option if wildfire risk becomes extreme.
She also urged Puget Sound Energy customers to update account contact info and to register medical dependencies so the utility can provide direct outreach before any de-energization. Vandegren said the state Utilities and Transportation Commission approved a portable-battery pilot that will provide 100 batteries for medically vulnerable customers in high-risk wildfire communities; she said the utility is still setting the program up locally.
On reliability work not tied to wildfire prevention, Vandegren said the company is pursuing 44 wire-replacement or undergrounding projects in the county, including undergrounding along State Route 903 and work on Thorpe Highway, Tandem Road, Dry Creek Road and Hunter Road. She said the company is coordinating signage and outreach with local jurisdictions and fire districts to explain work and public benefits.
Commissioners and staff asked a question about traffic impacts for SR 903 work; Vandegren said the company is coordinating a signage plan and construction outreach. She offered to follow up by email with commissioners on specifics.
The update was presented during the public-comment portion of the June 3 Kittitas County commissioners meeting; no formal county action was recorded on the company's update.
