PUD responds to snow-related outages

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The Jefferson County Public Utility District kept busy responding to power outages caused by snowfall Feb. 8-10 and is still anticipating snowfall-caused difficulties to come.

Will O’Donnell, communications manager for the PUD, expressed relief that the weather was not nearly as formidable as had been forecast.

“Potential heavy snow, combined with potential strong winds and low temperatures, meant our county was likely to experience outages at the worst possible time for any resident to lose power,” said O’Donnell, who expected snow, ice and wind to bring down trees and limbs, causing “havoc” with portions of the electrical grid.

Fortunately, O’Donnell concluded the snowfall fell short of predictions that it could be “the biggest snow event we’d seen in almost 30 years,” although he did point out the current snow event was not over.

“Our crews have been prepping their response for storm damage to parts of our system,” O’Donnell said. “This is the work they are trained for, and they’re up to the challenge, even if snow and ice aren’t the norm in our district.”

O’Donnell estimated no more than 1,000 customers were without power at most times between Feb. 8 and the late afternoon of Feb. 10. There was a peak of roughly 2,000 customers without power on the morning of Feb. 9, and a break in service calls around midday on Feb. 10, before crews were called out to respond to power outages again, he said.

“It was basically storm outage whack-a-mole,” O’Donnell said. “We’d anticipated we might need to contact a private backup crew to assist in responding to outages, and we did. We actually thought it would be worse, but again, we still have more snow and wind to come.”

O’Donnell advised PUD customers “in areas of the county that experience outages more frequently” to prepare.

“Actually, it would be good for everyone to prepare,” O’Donnell said. “Luckily, many folks in the outage-prone areas already are prepared.”

PUD Commissioner Dan Toepper of Port Ludlow was among those not surprised by the storm conditions.

“I saw the forecasts and read the writing on the wall,” Toepper said. “We got studded tires for the car, and the first day the snow came down, we got 14 inches, so we dug our driveway out.”

Toepper praised the county’s road crews for their responsiveness and reported continuous power at his location.

“I went into the office (Feb. 11), and got a chance to check out our crews at work,” Toepper said. “I know a few areas had some stretches without power. It struck me that most of those calls were getting buttoned up pretty quick.”

O’Donnell recommended alternative and safe sources of heat, stocks of food and water, and lots of blankets and warm clothing to last at least a day or two without power.

“If they don’t have that, they may need to think about finding other accommodations with relatives and friends,” O’Donnell said. “Driving in the snow will be more dangerous than leaving beforehand.”

O’Donnell urged people to be careful with generators and fires by not running generators inside the house, and using them only as directed.

“For folks who do have power but need extra heat during the cold, take care not to overload your circuits with space heaters plugged into outlets, or circuits, shared by multiple other items,” O’Donnell said. “Do not plug space heaters into surge protectors, and give space heaters safe distance from furniture or other objects.”

O’Donnell referred people to takewinterbystorm.org for other preparedness tips.

“Also, follow the PUD on Facebook or Twitter to get updates on outages and repairs during the storm,” O’Donnell said. “If you have cell service, you can stay up to date even if the lights are out.”