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Energizing the classroom

2010-02-09T10:14:00.001-08:00

Remember that great teacher you had as a kid? The one who made a subject you never liked suddenly become totally cool and interesting?

Truly gifted and enthusiastic, they made school something you looked forward to, with each day an adventure both in what you learned about the subject -- and in what you learned about yourself as you tackled something new.

Fortunately, teachers like that are still in classrooms all over Western Washington, and PSE is helping them give kids a great education by supporting wind and solar projects at schools in our area.

If you're an educator, administrator or parent, please take a look at the just-issued "request for proposals" for our 2010 Renewable Energy Education program grants. The program, formerly called the "Solar Schools" program, is now a little broader and also includes wind projects as well as solar arrays.

PSE has helped fund 20 educational solar projects at schools and community facilities around our area, including one from our 2009 round of grants for Coupeville Middle and High School, picutured here. This array was installed by the gang at Whidbey Sun & Wind, who contributed their knowledge, enthusiasm and elbow grease to get the project up and running smoothly.

The most exciting part about the renewable energy in education program to me has been the teachers, administrators and parents who have been involved in each project. I've met a number of the people who've teamed up to make grant applications to PSE, and they are all just like that "favorite teacher" you remember: enthusiastic, smart and always looking for something extra for "their kids."

If you are interested in the PSE solar and wind for education program, please visit the grant application information at PSE.com.

The school wind and solar systems generate a little energy (enough to power about 20 laptop computers), but more importantly generate ideas in the classroom as students use tracking software and other tools to study how their system works in different kinds of weather -- and how they can better manage their energy use to get the most out of the power they now make.

Like spending your own money, generating your own energy makes you conscious of every kilowatt -- in the same way that digging into your own pocket when you're a kid makes you think twice about every nickel, dime or quarter at the candy counter.

And, if you're thinking about solar at home, we can help with that, too.

Spring already?

2010-02-04T15:46:00.001-08:00

The grass in my yard is growing, and I'm none too happy about it! It may only be the first few days of February, but it feels like spring is already here.

Just days ago, we closed out the warmest January on record, with daily average temperatures that were well above normal, running at 47 degrees for the month. This run of above average winter heat broke marks going back more than a century. Interestingly, while it was warmer, it was wetter as well, with about an inch more rain than average -- about 6" for the month at SeaTac rather than the typical 5".

Warmer, but rainier? Actually the two often go together in winter. If it's warm, we are often getting moderate to heavy rain, and not bright sunshine. By contrast, our clearest days in the winter are often very cold.

This past January was kind of an odd mix, with some very wet days, a bit of windy weather mid-month around the MLK holiday, and also some nice partly sunny, high clouds days that weren't necessarily stunning -- but were certainly a nice change from how gray winter can be.

Now, after the January warm up, we're into a pretty pleasant February. The only trouble is that this is the time of year that is critical to our mountain snow pack, which is vital for salmon, farmers and hydro power, such as PSE's Upper Baker dam in Skagit County (pictured here).

The good news is that we have until late March to catch up; the bad news is that with El Nino dominating our weather, history is against us as far as getting big late season snow fall.

In the meantime, skinny snow packs are another great reason to be energy efficient. Here are some easy ways to save energy -- and keep some water behind the dam for summer -- at PSE.com.

And will we get more snow? Keep the snow shovel handy, there's still a few weeks left before we can count Old Man Winter out for good.

It's movie time! Snoqualmie Falls on TV tonight

2010-02-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

We interrupt our regular blogging for this special bulletin!

Generally, this blog is not a replacement for TV Guide, but I wanted to get a note out about a great program on KCTS-9 TV tonight at 9:00 p.m. that's all about the story of how the power plant at Snoqualmie Falls was built back in the 1890s by a predecessor company of PSE.

Although it's the story of the world's first underground hydroelectric plant, the "Power of Snoqualmie Falls" is also a story of big dreams, dashed hopes and a lot of other drama over the past century.

The falls was built more than a century ago, and is still providing clean power for our region, and is now going to be improved with new technologies that should keep it humming away for a long time to come. The visitors area (one of the most popular tourist attractions in our region) is also being spiffed up, with new facilities opening later this spring.

The program airs tonight at 9:00 on KCTS-9 TV.

Renton kids see bright future in energy

2010-01-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

Who's a big fan of cow manure? I guarantee that asking this question to a group of junior high kids is a very entertaining way to start a conversation about career planning.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Me, I'm still trying to decide, but the students at Renton's Nelsen Middle School seem to have a pretty good handle on the future, and for many, that future is in being part of new thinking about energy.

I spoke to six classes of 6th, 7th and 8th graders today, and they are pretty sharp when it comes to energy and how it affects their lives. Sure, a few kids looked a little sleepy when the buzzer rang for home room at 7:55 a.m. (and that was before I started my presentation), but most "get it" that energy is going to have an impact on their lives one way or the other.

My main "career day" message is that we have two big issues in the energy world -- rising energy demand and rising concern about the economy and environment -- and that solving those issues is vital to their future, but also holds a lot of cool opportunities to have an interesting job and make a difference in the direction society takes.

After talking about the basics of energy (Number one: today, your parents get the bill, but tomorrow it has your name on it), we talked about what the kids liked to do, and how their interests could be a good path toward a career in energy. '

For example, one young lady said she liked drawing and painting -- and was a little skeptical that the arts had much connection to the energy industry. However, with some help from her classmates, we quickly outlined a career path for a budding artist that involved coming up with compelling images to educate people on ways to save energy.

Another student said he liked math, and that was pretty easy to link to energy. Some high quality engineering noggins have spent a lot of time figuring out how to build wind turbines, solar panels, hydro plants and other cool machines, or to putting in a few miles of natural gas piping. My 7th grade mathematician was smiling at the idea that perhaps he could put his pencil and calculator to work designing a new, clean way to produce energy, or to use them more wisely with electronics and other items that were more efficient.

Thanks to the gang at Nelsen for a great morning, and look out all you grown ups, there are some smart kids eager to get out and put their mark on the world. Not too long from now, I expect I'll be seeing them here at PSE -- and we'll be the better for it.

June-uary? El Nino causing calendar conundrum

2010-01-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

Time to play the game that everyone's talking about -- What Month Is It? This new parlor pasttime involves guessing whether it is January or June, winter or summer. Lately, it's been hard to know as we are on pace for a record warm January.

After a cold December, temperatures this January are running about 7 degrees above normal, with a daily average temperature (meaning the average between each day's high and low temperature) of 47 degrees, versus a more typical 40 degrees. That has a big impact on energy consumption, with PSE customers generally using less electricity and natural gas than last year at this time. The only caution with that kind of statement, though, is the fact that we are only one cold snap away from record energy demand -- such as the cold weather a few weeks back in the early part of last month that set new marks for electric and natural gas demand.

What's behind the warm up? Is it climate change? No, not in this case. Rather, the weather we've been seeing is typical of El Nino, which is a warming of Pacific Ocean sea-surface temperatures that gives us a warmer and somewhat drier than normal winter. In contrast, El Nino gives California a wetter and cooler winter, which is why some big storms are hitting California while in Washington it feels like spring is here early. The satellite picture here shows the "big weather" moving in down south, and just a little ripple coming our way -- the reverse of the usual winter weather for the West Coast.

While it's wonderful to be blogging while seeing some sun out the window on a January day, the troubling part is the fact that this kind of year is not good for the snowpack that we need for salmon runs, agriculture and hydropower. Right, now organizers of the Vancouver Olympics are a little nervous that snow is looking thin for all that gold medal schussing to come in February.

Does this mean we are facing a snow shortage (and summer water shortage)? Not necessarily, as February and March are often huge months for mountain snow. But, being smart about water use is always a good idea, and when you save water you are also saving energy -- and money. A nice "triple play" to make at a time when spring appears to have sprung early.

Winter at Wild Horse

2010-01-14T08:54:00.001-08:00

It may be fairly mild and rainy around much of the Puget Sound area, but at 3,500 feet of elevation on Central Washington's Whiskey Dick Mountain it looks like winter.

These pictures were taken this week at PSE's Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, which is sited on Whiskey Dick about 15 miles east of Ellensburg along the Vantage Highway in Kittitas County.

Earlier in the season, our crew at Wild Horse reported winds in the 30 to 40 mph range and temperatures in the single digits, making for some brutal wind-chill numbers but also a lot of clean, renewable energy.

The site is quite beautiful in a unique way, with a "shrub-steppe" habitat that is filled with small cactus and other plants that you might not associate with Washington state if you are more familiar with the wetter, mossier west side of the Cascades.

The winter weather means we can't have visitors right now, but the Renewable Energy Center visitors facility will reopen on April 1 and stay open through November 30 for its third season of providing an "up close" look at how renewable energy works.

Meantime, enjoy these cool pictures and start planning a trip over the mountains for when the weather warms up!

Geothermal, can you dig it?

2010-01-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

Consumers being consumers, we all like to choose exactly what product or service is right for us. Some things I buy wouldn't be right for you, and vice versa. Each product may be good overall, but not a good choice for what we need individually.

This includes products that can help us live smarter and save a few dollars -- including those that can help us be more energy efficient.

Fortunately, PSE now has more "ways to save" with an expanded range of products that are eligible for our energy efficiency rebates. The goal is to allow you to better pick what works for your lifestyle, and your home.

One cool new item is a $1,500 rebate for an ENERGY STAR qualified geothermal heat pump. These have been gaining in popularity over the past few years, particularly on the East Coast where many homes don't have natural gas and must use home heating oil, but are now catching on in our area as well. In particular, they may be a great choice if you live in an area without natural gas service, and have instead been using electric baseboard heat or an electric furnace, neither of which is terribly efficient. The illustration here shows how the systems use horizontal, diagonal or vertical "wells" to tap into the "heat" underground (in winter) or the "cool" underground (in summer).

The geothermal heat pumps take advantage of what's called "reversal of seasons" between the air and the ground. In winter, the temperature of the soil underground is usually warmer than the air above, making for a source of heat for your home. In summer, the opposite happens, and the ground is usually cooler than the air, making for a source of cooling. A geothermal system taps into this "reversal of seasons", providing a very neat and efficient heating and cooling source. The system isn't right for all homes or locations, but it may be just the thing for some applications, and now our broader range of rebates will help the economics if it is right for your needs. As you might note from the handy color cartoon, this won't work in every location, but is certainly a good choice for some homes -- and choice is what our rebate program is all about.

If you are on electric heat, but geothermal won't work in your location, we also now have a "conversion rebate" of $1,000 for switching from forced-air electric heat to a natural gas system.

Choices. Always good to have more of them, but they can be confusing. Looking for what's right where you live and how you live? Please call our Energy Advisors at 1-800-562-1482 and they can help with some of the choices. Nice to have more options, but even better to have options plus information. The Energy Advisors can provide both.

Solar powers up in 2009

2009-12-30T16:04:00.001-08:00

Number one question I get at any speaking engagement in the area: "Does solar work in Western Washington?" Yes, it does, and in fact solar just had its best year ever as measured by the number of PSE customers connecting their home or small business solar systems to our grid. Don't let today's cloudy satellite picture fool you. December may not be solar season, but we do okay in making electricity from the sun for much of the year, in large part because of our long days from April through early October.

In 2009, some 197 PSE customers hooked up to our grid through out "net metering" program, which gives you credit for the extra power you generate on sunny days when you're not home or you're energy use is low. Then, on those days when the sun isn't shining, you can draw on those credits and have the reassurance of knowing that your friendly local utility (that would be us) is still sending power down the wire for whenever you need it.

What's really amazing about the growth in solar this year is that it's not cheap to put solar on your roof (with most homeowners investing from $20,000 to $30,000 to put up a system that meets roughly 25 to 50 percent of their power needs, depending on the size of their home and their energy efficiency) and 2009 wasn't exactly a banner year for the economy.

A few things got solar amped up this year: the passion of solar enthusiasts, the availability of made-in-Washington solar panels (which allow you to get full benefit of a state incentive) and a major increase in the federal tax credit for solar, which was largely spearheaded by Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Jay Inslee.

I've had a chance to talk to Congressman Inslee (who represents a good chunk of the central Puget Sound area including Bainbridge Island and parts of King and Snohomish counties) and he is truly an expert on solar, and a big believer in its ability to help meet some of our energy needs in the future. He's written a good book on the subject, called Apollo's Fire.

The tax credit, which Maria Cantwell helped lead through the Senate in 2008, removed an earlier $2000 cap on the federal tax credit for solar systems -- allowing solar owners to get a full 30 percent off the price of their system via their taxes. That's been a big boost for solar, and made for a busy year for solar installers, a nice "green economy" benefit in this recession.

To learn more about solar, check out these great links.

Insulation, oh baby!

2009-12-17T08:34:00.000-08:00

The ingredients of romance? A fine wine, soft music, flickering candles and thick, luxurious . . . insulation.

Well, at least that's what one New York Times blogger noted this week, quoting President Obama on the sex appeal of insulation. "Here's what's sexy about it -- saving money," said the President.

This has been an interesting week in energy news, with a lot of stories about the Copenhagen climate talks and the clashes between police and protesters and climate change believers and skeptics. Lost in that hullabaloo, in my mind, is the fact that most energy strategies targeted at climate change make good sense for a lot of other reasons.

Renewable energy, such as wind power, is something we can do close to home, without importing fossil fuels. Likewise, energy efficiency means avoiding building more power plants (and they all cost money, whether you're talking about coal, nuclear, hydro, solar or whatever) and also less of the infrastructure needed to bring power to where it's being used.

In this cold time of year, insulation can certainly be a money-saver, and also something that will improve the value and comfort of your home for the long term. This is also a great time to think about adding a little to your home's R-value.

PSE offers a pretty comprehensive package of insulation rebates, and also help in finding an expert to get the job done right.

The economic stimulus package aimed at perking up the economy gives you a tax break for insulation and other energy efficiency steps, too. And if insulation is sexy, well, a tax break is downright irresistible.

Driving change

2009-12-11T10:26:00.001-08:00

Ice cold in Bellevue this week as the new Nissan LEAF all-electric car made it's debut. But judging by the response of the crowd at Bellevue Square, it may well be a hot seller when it hits the market late in 2010.

In the top photo, Steve Reynolds, PSE's CEO, is speaking about how electric transportation is a bit of "back to the future," since our early hydroelectric projects helped power electric street cars in Western Washington a century ago. What comes around goes around!

The Puget Sound area is one of five launch markets selected by Nissan, which will begin selling the cars on a limited basis next year, and then says it will go into full production by 2011, adding a U.S. production plant in 2012-2013. The City of Bellevue and other members of the "C-7 New Energy Partnership" (Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Renton and Sammamish) are all working together to bring charging stations to the region. PSE won't be building any chargers ourselves, but will supply the power.

I'm a long-time car fan, and I was very impressed (although the car was not available to drive, other PSE people who did drive one at another event said it had plenty of pickup and was something they could see driving themselves). The car is good-sized, with enough room for four people for most of the trips we take commuting, shopping, etc. and had slick but not-too-far-out design that signals the car is something different, but still practical. I currently have a Nissan Maxima with 202,000 miles, and perhaps it will become a LEAF in a year or two. (This may require extensive domestic negotiations).

For PSE, the electric car poses both opportunities and challenges. As a business, the use of energy is how we make money. On the other hand, we also encourage energy efficiency to help keep demand from growing too fast, and to help preserve the environment. Out of control demand is expensive to meet, and in general we are an energy intensive society that could benefit from greater energy efficiency.

The electric car may offer a neat third option of allowing for charging at off-peak times (such as overnight) which can be done without adding much extra in the way of powerplant capacity, while also helping reduce our region's environmental impact and carbon footprint by swapping gallons of petroleum for electrons. This could allow use to use our region's hydro and wind resources to help power transportation, rather than relying on fossil fuels and foreign oil.

Right now, PSE has two plug-in hybrid cars in its fleet, which we are using to help us learn more about how electric vehicles operate. Judging by our tests, it's a market whose time is coming quickly.

You can learn more about getting information about the cars at Nissan's website. I've signed up for the information emails, and will pass on any details as I get them.

Cold snap breaks records

2009-12-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

A major dip in the mercury this week as our blast of cold weather broke some records -- and not just temperature records, either.

The PSE record books have been re-written and re-re-written a few times this week, as the cold has resulted in a spike in both natural gas and electric use.

On the natural gas side (and the picture here shows our Jackson Prairie storage facility in Lewis County), our customers used record amounts of natural gas.

On Monday, we set a new record of 791,000 MMBtu (million British thermal units) of natural gas, and then set a new record on Wednesday of 812,000 MMBtu of natural gas.

Both marks eclipsed the natural gas usage of only a year ago during our very cold (and snowy) December 2008.

On the electric side, we also set records that broke our old marks (from December 2008), with a new all-time energy demand of 4,912 megawatts (MW), a little higher than the previous high demand for electricity of 4,906 MW set in 2008.

Interestingly, we also set a new summer peak only last July, when the 100+ degree heat wave pushed electric consumption to 3,508 MW, higher than what had been the summer record of 3,228 MW set in July 2007.

Notice a pattern here? We're using a lot more energy -- winter or summer -- and we're seeing those gains coming quickly.

We're dealing with that challenge in three ways: adding to our energy supplies, reinforcing the pipes and wires that make up our energy delivery systems and increasing the ways we can help you track and reduce your energy use.

With the cold weather looking to stick around, all three strategies look like wise ideas.

Snow? Could be, may be, might be . . .

2009-12-03T16:09:00.001-08:00

No word in the English language unleashes as much joy, ecstasy, panic, fear, love, loathing and other mixed emotions as -- SNOW! And yes, we might just see some by this weekend or early next week. Or then again, maybe not. The forecast models are split on whether we will be cold and dry or bring in some moisture and make a little snow.

Expect a real cold snap the next few days, as we enter into a familiar winter pattern of cold, clear sunny days, followed by the inevitable return of wetter weather, and the equally inevitable forecaster's dilemma of whether that returning moisture will bring snow.

It's always a tough call, but right now, I'd say we'll see some snow, mainly on higher hills and more rural areas, anytime from Saturday night and into next week, with a slow warming and return to cloudy skies and rain by later Thursday or Friday.

At the moment, it doesn't look like anything memorable -- no repeat of the big 2008 snow is in the cards for the time being, but it wouldn't be mid-December without a bit of snow. The picture here is from a snowfall in Duvall in 2004, with one of our service crews out in the cold on some slick and icy roads.

The National Weather Service will be tracking this, and you can't beat UW Prof. Cliff Mass for a behind the scenes look at the forecast. KOMO's Scott Sistek also blogs about weather with a nice sense of humor along with some easy-to-understand Weather 101.

And if the temperature does drop, you might want to call our Energy Advisors at 1-800-562-1482 or see PSE.com for the latest on rebates for insulation, efficient furnaces and other tips for keeping the house comfortable and the energy bill manageable as cold weather comes to town.

You can even use the "energy use by day" feature of the online audit tool at MyPSE.com to track whether the cold snap makes your energy use go up -- if it does, the rebates for insulation might be a smart move.

Bainbridge Island grid gets smarter

2009-11-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

The "smart grid" is a popular term, but one that's a little vague. Depending on whom you ask or what you are reading, it can mean everything from putting solar on your rooftop (which we can help you do) to putting wind power on the grid (we do that, too) to meters that report back digitally rather than via a meter-reader with a clip board and a pen (yep, our 1.1 million electric meters and 750,000 natural gas meters have been wireless for nearly a decade.)

Recently the news has brought a few interesting headlines on smart grid developments, from grants from the DOE to a new pilot project we have on Bainbridge Island where residents are helping us test new technologies to lower energy use during periods of peak demand.

The test, which we developed with the help of the Bainbridge Island Community Energy Task Force, uses an internet-controlled device that allows us to dial back electric water heaters and furnaces on the island during times of peak demand. In our area, that means in the winter time (in some hotter parts of the country this technology is being used for things like air-conditioning and swimming pools).

The program is strictly voluntary (and if you live on Bainbridge you can click here to find out hwo to sign up) and customers who do choose to take part can opt out at any time. In fact, one of the things we're hoping to learn is whether what's technically possible, such as using the internet to dial back your furnace, is something that will fly in the real world. Who knows? Perhaps people say they won't mind putting on a sweater when the furnace gets rolled back for a few hours, or perhaps they'll hit the override button. After all, it's your house so you get to choose. It will be interesting to see what the test reveals, both about technology and about human nature.

As a bit of media commentary, I think the headline on KING5.com is kind of silly. We're not taking control of anyone's furnace without them knowing about it. Everyone who takes part is a volunteer -- and they get $50 a year to boot. Not exactly Orwell's version of Big Brother, but headline writers are headline writers so no big deal.

And if you're interested in getting a bit smarter with your energy use, create a MyPSE account and switch to paperless billing. You'll get all the information of the paper bill (in fact, even more) and you'll have the satisfaction of being a little eco-friendlier, too.

Windy weather, wise investments

2009-11-19T15:21:00.000-08:00

Another windy night coming to the Puget Sound area, with the National Weather Service forecasting high winds again for the North Sound (especially Whidbey Island, Whatcom County and Skagit County) with gusts of 60 mph, and strong winds gusting to 40 mph or so for the rest of the area.

Pretty amazing to see windy weather four times in a single week, but that's life in our neck of the woods during November. In fact, November 19 is, historically, the day most likely to have rain -- with rain roughly 80 percent of the time on that date during the last century. Check out this nice chart on the KOMO-TV website for more stats.

So far in this stormy week, PSE's system has held out pretty well, with mostly short-term, scattered neighborhood outages despite winds that have gusted as high as 61 mph in areas we serve, with Bellingham and Whidbey Naval Air Station posting the highest wind speeds. Even higher gusts have been reported in the Cascades and Olympics, with Hurricane Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula and Crystal Mountain ski area near Mount Rainier both clocking winds of more than 100 mph.

Why is our system holding out? I'd credit three things: 1) smart investments in infrastructure and maintenance; 2) great people who are well-trained and know what to do, and 3) a little luck.

As far as the investments, we've been building a more robust system, including new substations, transmission lines, and more undergrounding of local distribution power lines. That all adds up to better reliability, with projects underway across Western Washington. On windy Whidbey Island, for example, we've put in some of the most modern equipment around, and this week it's been paying off in better reliability and fewer outages. Tree-trimming is a big year-round effort, with Whidbey Island again providing an example of how weathering the storm starts with being ahead of the storm -- trimming trees in the summer sun, and not when the wind blows.

When it comes to people, our team started having "mock storms" back in those sunny days of September, and everyday we have more than 130 power line repair crews, nearly 200 damage assessors (double what we had in 2006) and 25 tree crews ready to go.

And of course a little luck! The winds have been strong, but not quite where they begin to topple trees in big numbers. So far most gusts have been below 60 mph, and that's roughly the breaking point for our majestic Northwest timber.

As the wind blows tonight, keep your fingers crossed the gusts don't get too strong, and take a moment to breathe easier knowing PSE was working to build up our energy delivery system and have train up our people to be ready.

There's no "hunker" for PSE crews

2009-11-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

I love the phrase "time to hunker down." It says that big, bad weather is coming, and you, my friend, would be well advised to hunker, and do it without delay!

So what is "hunkering?" No one really knows, but it is commonly said by TV reporters in the midst of high winds and rain coming down sideways, and is generally accepted as a prudent move in times of severe weather.

Certainly, Western Washington has been doing our share of hunkering these days, with a big storm Sunday night and again last night -- and a few more expected. According to the National Weather Service, we'll see another wind storm for Wednesday night and Thursday, and possibly a pair of storms moving through the area on Friday night and Sunday night. That calls for some serious hunkering!

PSE crews have been doing the anti-hunker lately, when the rest of us are trying to stay warm and cozy indoors the men and women of our line service crews, damage assessor teams and tree crews (including those of our partners Potelco and Asplundh) have been heading out into the storm when everybody else has been battening down the hatches (another term I love even though I have no idea what it means).

From Sunday night through mid-day Tuesday, the PSE crew anti-hunker has meant restoring power to more than 52,000 customers who were hit by the wind storm -- no easy job in all that wind, rain and dark of night. As the UW's Cliff Mass notes on his blog, last night's wind came on quickly and packed a punch. The graphic here is a weather computer model depiction of the storm, and when the spaghetti of millibar pressure lines get too close together as they are here serious hunkerization is needed!

A key part of the PSE anti-hunker is getting out and being ready where the forecast indicates the weather will be the worst, and that includes putting extra crews on duty the last few nights in Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties, as well as opening our Emergency Operations Center to coordinate all the work.

At all times, we have more than 50 4-person line crews ready to go on the big jobs, as well as nearly 80 one-person service crews for smaller jobs and assessing larger repair needs. We also have nearly 200 trained damage assessors who can get out and eyeball the downed trees and other hazards and help make sure the right resources get to the right place.

And speaking of trees, we tree-trim year round, clearing branches and trees on 2,000 miles of powerline corridors in 2009 alone, and keep more than two-dozen of the tree crews available at all times to team up with our line crews to clear trees from downed wires, etc.

If you're interested in this kind of work, please take a look at our website. It's not easy, but our field crews have a great spirit and genuinely seem to love the job. You can hear it from them directly here.

Good thing, too, because it looks like they will be busy for a while.

Wild Horse powers up

2009-11-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a big week out at the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, with the PSE site near Ellensburg now up and running at its new 149-turbine size.

Originally built in 2006 with 127 turbines (a.k.a. "wind mills"), Wild Horse grew by 22 turbines this summer with PSE adding the new machines to make a little more power from the wind that blows across the Kittitas Valley.

The new machines are Vestas V-80 2.0 MW turbines (MW for megawatt, or 1,000 kilowatts), which are a bit more powerful than the original V-80 1.8 MW units at the site. This photo shows one of the nacelles (which weigh about 80 tons and are about the size of a bus) that contain the generator unit and also the weather data gathering gear for each turbine. The nacelle sits on top of a 221 foot tall tower, with the 120 foot long rotor blades taking the whole height up to 351 feet from tip of the blade to the ground.

What I find most amazing is that our first wind facility (Hopkins Ridge) opened in November 2005, with Wild Horse in December 2006. So, in only four years, we have gone from no wind power to a capacity of 430 MW -- or what the American Wind Energy Association says is roughly equal to the energy needs of about 110,000 average U.S. homes. AWEA, by the way, ranks PSE as the second-largest utility owner and operator of wind power in the nation.

Wild Horse also has a large solar site, with some 3,000 solar panels, with new Washington-made solar panels being added this November as well. With a total capacity of 500 kW (or about 25 percent of the capacity of a single wind turbine) the solar site is not a major power producer, but does help meet much of Wild Horse's own energy needs, as well as giving PSE first-hand knowledge about operating a solar plant.

If you're thinking of adding a little solar to your own home, you're not alone: some 500 PSE customers now have home or business solar systems connected to the grid.

Those crazy kids in Auburn!

2009-11-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

Mostly a video blog here, but a fun morning in Auburn today with students from Auburn High School, Auburn Riverside High School and Auburn Mountainview High School to help dramatize the need for flooding preparedness.

The whole contest was designed to help spread the word about Take Winter By Storm, the joint emergency preparedness campaign sponsored by Puget Sound Energy, the City of Seattle and King County -- along with State Farm Insurance, who also had a team of sandbaggers today.

The event, which featured judges from the Army Corps of Engineers, showed how team effort is what it takes to be ready for winter weather -- and in this case a particular emphasis was paid to the preparations being made in Auburn and other areas near the Green River.

This morning, the students competed to see which school could fill and stack the most sandbags (properly, that is) in a ten minute period.

Auburn Mountainview (in orange) was the winner. But, as they say, the real winners are everyone who gets ready for storm season.

November blows in . . .

2009-11-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

You can set your watch by it. November arrives and here it comes, wet, windy and nasty weather -- sometimes all at once. Sadly, the storm from last night even proved deadly as one local man was struck by a falling tree. When the mountain snow hits, it just adds a little more to the travel troubles of the storm season in the Puget Sound area and Washington state in general.

The Take Winter By Storm campaign is one way PSE and other local partners including King County, the City of Seattle and State Farm Insurance are working to help get everybody ready for rough weather, with the TWBS effort including radio and TV commercials, as well as a handy preparedness checklist on the TWBS website.

The photo here is from an event we held for Take Winter By Storm this week, and it features PSE's Dennis Smedsrud doing a demonstration of how falling trees can impact the power grid as KIRO-TV videographer Richard Marshall takes pictures. Lots of "buzz" and "zap" for the cameras, and some helpful advice from the experts. If you see a downed line, stay away! And call either PSE at 1-888-225-5773 or 9-1-1 and wait until help arrives.

Generators were also part of the demonstration, and PSE wants you to use those safely too.

The Seattle Times' Richard Seven covered the exhibition, and has some great tips in his article from Nov. 3.

Our weather these past few weeks shows how quickly things can change around here at this time of year, with some dazzling sunny days followed by heavy rain and high winds, and even a little thunder and lightning. Surprisingly, we tend to get thunder fairly frequently at this time of year, especially in periods of rapidly changing weather, and little lightning is in the forecast through the weekend.

While everyone should take time to get set for nature's next bit of drama (whatever that may be) mountain drivers in particular should be thinking ahead. The National Weather Service has winter warnings up for the Cascades today, and any time now we will get our first avalanche closures and big snows on roads such as I-90 Snoqualmie, US 12 White Pass and US 2 Stevens Pass.

Are you ready, Olympia?

2009-10-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Ah, what a summer it was . . . the cheering crowds, the long days and crazy nights, loading the truck up and hitting the road, not knowing what town we were in, just living to hit the stage one more time. And as you can see from the picture, I have extensive "ink" on my arms (and, no these are no fake tattoos that I slip on and off for media photo opportunities).

Is that my rock band fantasy? Yes, but actually it was PSE's Energy Rock Star reality this past four months as the Rock The Bulb tour rolled across Western Washington, spreading the joy of saving energy and money to 16 communities from Anacortes to Auburn and back again.

This weekend the tour is in Thurston County for one last stop. If you're a PSE residential electric customer just come on down to the Olympia Lowes hardware store this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and bring in 10 old-fashioned energy-hungry incandescent light bulbs and we'll swap them, free of charge, for 10 energy efficiency compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). These CFLs use about one-quarter of the energy of an equivalent incandescent light -- with each bulb saving you about $40 over the lifetime of the bulb in energy costs.

With Rock the Bulb, PSE has now distributed nearly 11 million of these wonders since 2002 through giveaways like RTB or through our rebate program with local stores. If you haven't tried one, or haven't tried one for a while, give them a go. The price is right at Rock the Bulb (free), and the lights come in different color shadings (warmer and yellower, whiter and brighter) than they did a few years ago. And, the recycling infrastructure is now in place so they can be disposed of properly and easily.

Thanks to all the PSE customers who have made this our summer of rockin' out and saving energy.

Rock'on dude.

Take Winter By Storm - pt. 2

2009-10-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

I had a chance yesterday to write about the Take Winter By Storm campaign that PSE is doing as a partner with King County, the City of Seattle and State Farm Insurance.

Here's one of the TV commercials we shot. This one is about the need to clear your neighborhood storm drain to keep your block from turning into a flood zone when fall rains come.

Enjoy!

Take Winter By Storm!

2009-10-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

It's time to Take Winter By Storm!

Nobody ever regretted being prepared for an emergency. On the other hand, the woulda, coulda, shoulda's are likely a familiar feeling for most of us when a storm hits or disaster strikes and we're left wondering why we didn't get ready when we had a chance.

Take Winter By Storm is a joint effort of PSE, the City of Seattle, King County and State Farm Insurance to spread the word that stormy weather is coming our way -- and getting ready is a wise move to keep you and your family safe.

The campaign involves both TV and radio commercials, as well as a website and tweets by WinterByStorm on Twitter and a page on Facebook.

Truth be told, I had a great time making the TV commercials, and incredibly enough we managed to shoot all the spots (flooding, Green River Valley flooding, clearing drains, generator safety, emergency kits and staying off the road in snowy weather) in one busy day.

Getting ready is fairly easy, but it is something to do now, and not in the middle of the next snowstorm, windstorm, earthquake, plague of locusts or whatever comes to your neighborhood. Emergency kits can be purchased (often with in a handy backpack) or put together yourself. The Take Winter By Storm website has a checklist that makes for an easy guide for what to have and how much of various supplies you'll need. The site also has ideas on planning, such as having a family contact and rendezvous point. Let's all get ready, and then breathe a little easier this winter knowing we're prepared.

Fall is here! Are you ready?

2009-10-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

The picture here makes me smile, because it was taken only a few weeks ago when the weather was warm and it seemed like summer would never end. The photo is from a TV shoot for "Take Winter By Storm," a joint effort with PSE, King County, the City of Seattle and State Farm insurance to help get people ready for storm season.

The day we took the photo (and shot the TV spots that will begin airing soon) it was about 70 degrees and I was wearing a sheepskin coat and gloves telling people about generator safety for stormy weather. And now stormy weather is here . . . at least will be by tomorrow.

The National Weather Service is predicting gusty weather for Tuesday (especially in the Cascade Foothills) and also some heavy rain later this week as well. Other forecasters such as the UW's Cliff Mass and KOMO's Steve Pool agree. Welcome to the Northwest!

If you haven't gotten ready for storm season, now is clearly the time.

El Nino: Not so easy after all?

2009-10-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

The latest word is in from the National Weather Service, and it's pretty encouraging when it comes to our fall and winter that are just around the corner.

Right now we are in a developing El Nino pattern, which generally means an easier fall and winter season for the Pacific Northwest. That "generally" however, comes with a big, big asterisk: while the overall winter may bring less rain, snow and storminess than usual, we can still see some slam-bang weather in an El Nino year.

The best example is the winter of 2006-2007, which began with some epic events: the rainiest November ever recorded (with about 16" of rain at SeaTac), some huge snow the night of the Seahawks-Packers football game, and the damaging Hannukah Eve Wind Storm shown in the picture here of downed trees and powerlines on Mercer Island. Once we got into January, the winter did become pretty ho-hum, and even very nice weather near 60 degrees was common in February and March, but after such a wild start to the season it would have been a stretch to call it an "easy winter!"

The NWS sees signs of El Nino now, which typically does mean easier weather for much of our season ahead. El Nino, which is when the Pacific Ocean is warmer than average, usually means more of the wind and rain that hits our region heads south to California, giving us a break. But as 2006 demonstrated, that effect doesn't really take hold until late December or after, making the first few weeks of the season about as lively as any non-El Nino year.

One key concern this year, of course, is the Howard Hanson Dam, and the potential for flooding in the Green River Valley -- including the towns of Auburn, Kent, Renton and Tukwila. This new tool from the NWS makes it easy to see what's happening on rivers near you.

Here's hoping El Nino does provide the break it is known for -- but the wise will recall that every year can bring some tough weather, El Nino or not, and will be ready when it comes.

If you're on Twitter, look for us at PSETalk.

What a week in energy

2009-10-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

What a week in the world of energy . . . let's go to the highlights!

On Monday, a great project in Skagit County roared to life, with Farm Power firing up its 750 kW generator -- capable of meeting the energy needs of about 500 homes. The plant is a manure-to-methane facility that takes cow-poo and turns it into renewable energy. The output goes right to our Green Power Program, meaning that when you participate you help make projects like this possible.

The photo here shows one of the Farm Power founders, Kevin Maas, on the left along with Gov. Gregoire, State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen and PSE's CEO Steve Reynolds pushing a button on a laptop computer to fire up the huge 16-cylinder powerplant that runs the generator. Kevin's younger brother and fellow Farm Power co-founder Daryl is in the shot as well, but you can only see his ear. As a fellow "little brother" myself, I sympathize with you Daryl! That kind of thing happens to us younger brothers all the time.

Another highlight came on Tuesday, when I learned a local group of electric vehicle (EV) enthusiasts are planning a trip to our Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility in October. The second photo here shows one EV driver's high-voltage hot rod with a PSE Green Power sticker in the window. The group is planning to drive over to Wild Horse and then recharge their cars while taking a tour of the wind farm. I'll get some more photos up later in the month when that happens.

And finally on Friday, PSE announced its role in what will be a major roll-out of electric cars in 2010, called cleverly, The Electric Vehicle Project -- which features the new Nissan LEAF (which is the blue car here). A $100 million grant from the Department of Energy to eTec, one of the project partners, will help go to charging stations around Western Washington, with PSE gearing up to supply power to the stations planned for Bellevue and King County.

And I almost forgot that October is Energy Awareness Month, but you knew that, right?

Gone gadget crazy

2009-09-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Here's an amazing statistic from an article in the New York Times this week: the average home had 3 electronic devices in 1980 but that number has jumped to some 25 electronic devices in the average home now, with household consumer electronics now consuming 15 percent of the world's electrical output.

This statistic surprised me, but then I went around my own house and pretty quickly realized the stats were likely on the money for most of us. The picture here tells the tale: where we used to have one TV in the house most of us have many, and with each TV probably comes a DVD player, Tivo or DVR and maybe a cable box as well.

Home offices are the same. Perhaps years ago you might have had an electric typewriter and that's about it in a home office. Now it's a computer (and maybe a few more around the house), a scanner, a modem, a printer or two and maybe a outboard hard-drive or other gizmo for backup.

The Times writer, Kate Galbreath, has more details on her blog about new trends toward more efficient appliances, but the overall picure of rising energy use squares with what PSE sees as being about 40 percent more energy use in our region by 2029.

It's also why we offer rebates on appliances, lighting and other energy saving ideas.