Here is a great graphic from the Snohomish PUD on how they make decisions on restoring power. To learn more and get answers to frequently asked questions click here.
How does the PUD decide which outage repair jobs to do first?
During major storms, a number of factors are considered in order to determine which repairs crews make first.
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First, the utility focuses on outages at the higher-voltage transmission level, which power substations that serve large numbers of customers, hospitals, schools and businesses. |
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Oil spills from transformers, wires blocking main highways and wires down on buildings or vehicles get high priority based on the safety hazards they present. |
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Next to be restored are substation main line circuits that serve neighborhoods and/or businesses. |
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Smaller outages are then addressed. These may be caused by transformer malfunctions or fallen service lines and may serve one or just a few homes. |
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Finally outages impacting non-essential street lights are resolved |
At the height of this weekend’s storms approximately 175,000 people were without power. Snohomish PUD compares it to the big Inauguration Day storm in 1993. Here’s an important number to keep handy…
Put this number in your phone or write it down on a piece of paper.
August 31, 2015
Everett