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November Wind Storm

We understand the stress and disruption that outages can cause for you and your family and that it's especially challenging on cold days and nights. We continue our around-the-clock work to restore your power due to Tuesday’s damaging windstorm.

As of 11:59 p.m., we have 298,294 customers out of power, with more than 297,566 customers restored since the start of the storm. However, due to extensive wind and equipment damage, power for some customers may be out for an extended period. We are updating our outage map with the best information available and will continue to provide updates as restoration continues. Please note that outage numbers will fluctuate as restorations are occurring throughout the system. Our focus overnight continues to be on transmission lines to critical infrastructure and public safety. Our PSE dispatch team has fielded over 2,000 escalated 911 calls since Tuesday afternoon.

Our first step in restoring power is damage assessment: getting a look at what’s been done to the system and determining the extent of repairs that are needed. Crews continue to survey damage on the ground overnight and helicopter patrols will resume tomorrow morning. On Wednesday, helicopter patrols spent 9 hours in total flight assessing our transmission lines for damage. We will provide restoration updates through our outage map at pse.com/outages as information becomes available.

 

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Safety first. Never touch or go within 35 feet of downed power lines because they might be energized. Call PSE at 1-888-225-5773 or 911 to report problems.

Report and track power outages online

Protecting birds

PSE’s Avian Protection Program promotes a company-wide consistent avian-safe approach throughout our service area. Since the 1980’s PSE has been working to protect birds and their habitats by responding to bird-power line interactions, implementing bird-friendly construction standards to reduce the risk of bird electrocutions and collisions, coordinating with Vegetation Management and construction Project Managers to minimize impacts on nesting birds and habitat, and coordinating with State and Federal Wildlife Agencies, Wildlife Rehabilitators, and others to help address avian concerns region-wide. While it is not possible to prevent all injurious contact between birds and electric equipment, we make significant investments to reduce the number of incidents.

Our Avian Protection Program is recognized by federal wildlife officials as an industry model for reducing the impact of utility equipment on migrating and resident bird populations. While the bald eagle population has increased significantly over the years, we've seen no increase in eagle fatalities from contact with our electrical system. Trumpeter swan-power line collisions as well as small-bird fatalities also have been reduced through our efforts. All of these reductions are a testament to the effectiveness of our bird-protection program.

We are continuously evaluating our program and the procedures we have in place to continue to reduce our electrical system's impact on birds.

Learn how

  • We conduct bird surveys near our electrical facilities to assess problem areas and identify high-priority sites for bird-protection efforts.
  • We work with our engineers, utility-infrastructure planners, and vegetation management to minimize impacts on avian habitats.
  • We exchange information and partner in the field with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on bird-protection initiatives.
  • We respond to bird issues at company facilities and take corrective actions throughout our service area.
  • We implement and continually refine avian-friendly construction standards to prevent or minimize bird interactions with our electrical system.
  • We operate the Avian Protection Program under a Federal Special Purpose Utility Permit, and support avian management at PSE’s wind and other generation facilities

We are a member of the Avian/Power Line Interaction Committee and a contributor to its nationally recognized publication, Suggested Practices for Avian Protection on Power Lines and Reducing Avian Collisions with Power Lines.

A few of the specialized tools we use to reduce the risk of bird electrocution:

  • Since 1979, we have built more than 65 osprey nest platforms to provide safe nesting alternatives for birds that try to nest on our power poles.
  • Since 2004, we have installed more than 8,500 bushing covers on transformers to prevent bird and squirrel electrocutions and reduce power outages, and approximately 4,000 wire covers which allow eagles and other large birds to perch safely on power poles.
  • Since 2003, we have installed more than 23,000 bird flight diverter devices to reduce avian-power line collisions by making our conductors more visible to birds, and trumpeter swans in particular.
  • Since 2000, we have installed more than 120 perches to provide safe alternative locations for birds to perch in areas with little natural substrate for perching.

Avian Protection Program Brochure

Birds