PSE Electric System Audit on Mercer Island Underway

Puget Sound Energy announced Thursday it has launched a six-week pilot survey on Mercer Island to begin updating technology to track and more efficiently respond to power outages as well as provide customers with improved outage restoration information.

According to a press release, PSE — Washington’s largest local utility — will run the pilot program from Aug. 24 through September 2011.

In surveying the electric system, PSE contractors will photograph, videotape, and survey utility equipment on power poles and transformers, including adding geospatial tags. PSE spokesperson Terri-Ann Betancourt said Mercer Island was chosen, along with Renton, for the pilot project because of the wide variety of different types of electrical equipment and settings where they're used. Specifically, she pointed to the Island's good distribution of overhead and underground feeder equipment; old and new construction; some areas of built-up, congested circuits and a variety of residential and commercial properties

"The crews are working in public areas — not on private property," said Betancourt. "This is a pilot project, so it was important to pick circuits that have as wide a variety of scenarios so that any problems are encountered before the full field data acquisition."

The data collected will be the first step in conducting a complete survey of PSE’s electric system, which serves more than 1 million customers in a nine-county area stretching from the Canadian border to south of Olympia and as far east as Kittitas County.

Mercer Island and dozens of other communities in the Puget Sound are especially prone to power outages in the late fall and winter months as storms from the Pacific Ocean can . The caused by high winds, heavy rain and seem to be an annual event on Mercer Island.

Data collected from the survey will be used to help PSE deploy an advanced outage management system that will pinpoint the sources of power outages more quickly, boost crew efficiency, and predict and help PSE communicate customer restoration times more accurately.

The survey work will not disrupt service or interfere with traffic or other normal community activities. It will be conducted in public right-of-way areas and expected to last no longer than 15 minutes at a single location. PSE’s contractors include Infotech Enterprises America, Osmose Utility Services and Utility Data Contractors.

The field workers carry PSE contractor photo identification, wear shirts and hats with their company logos, and drive vehicles marked as PSE contractors.

PSE is committed to providing safe, dependable and efficient energy service.  For more information, contact the PSE Customer Access Center at 1-888-225-5773 or visit www.PSE.com