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November Wind Storm

Progress continues

Throughout the day crews made steady progress restoring power to customers impacted by Tuesday’s windstorm. 18 transmission lines, 42 distribution circuits and 15 substations were put back on-line today. These important pieces of infrastructure bring back on sometimes thousands of customers at once.    Today we’ve seen the most progress with restoration of power to our schools, critical infrastructure and medical facilities. However, we understand that for those still affected it remains incredibly challenging, especially with the cold conditions. For customers needing support, please check with your local government or call 211 to find warming shelters and other resources. King 5 also has this list of resources.

A message to our customers was sent through several channels this afternoon. Please see the letter here.

The high winds and resulting tree damage not only downed the smaller, local power lines, but also damaged transmission lines – the larger lines that bring power into communities. Crews are steadily bringing transmission lines back online; this is an important step before crews can focus on the local distribution system. Please note that there will be temporary spikes in outage numbers as those systems are energized so you may see numbers go up and down on the PSE outage map as the process occurs. In some cases, customers may receive a notification that their power is restored when substations are energized – if you are still without power, please report your outage through the myPSE app or our outage map.

Work will continue around the clock until every customer has power restored. We have the equipment and materials that are needed for the type of outages that can be caused by high winds. As crews finish work in one area, they are assigned to repair damage in another.

 

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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

PSE offers bill assistance for customers impacted by COVID-19

BELLEVUE, Wash. (4/13/2020) Puget Sound Energy will make funds available to help customers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through its Crisis-Affected Customer Assistance Program (CACAP). This includes customers who recently became unemployed, partially unemployed, or cannot work. The $11 million are carry-over funds under PSE’s Low Income Program. With approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, PSE made revisions to its program to make these funds available to a broader group of customers.

Puget Sound Energy will make funds available to help customers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes customers who recently became unemployed, partially unemployed, or cannot work. The $11 million are carry-over funds under PSE’s Low Income Program. With approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, PSE made revisions to its program to make these funds available to a broader group of customers.

Funds are also available in PSE’s other assistance programs, including the Warm Home Fund, PSE Home Energy Lifeline Program and Weatherization Assistance Program for income-eligible customers.

“We know this pandemic is deeply affecting many of our customers, and we have been working since its start to ensure no one is without electricity, heat or hot water during this time,” said PSE President and CEO Mary Kipp. “We are in unprecedented times, and it will take continued partnership and creativity to help as many people as possible.”

This program will be available to PSE’s residential customers in Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Lewis, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston and Whatcom counties who meet the household size and income criteria.

Depending on average monthly usage, a qualified PSE customer:

  • Must have a monthly household income limit up to 250% of Federal Poverty Level
  • Can receive up to $1,000 in PSE utility-bill credits per household

This table outlines the monthly household income limits at the Federal Poverty Level for households up to 10 people.

Number of Persons
in Household		 Qualifying Monthly
Household FPL Income		 Number of Persons
in Household		 QUalifying Monthly
Household FPL Income

1

$2,658

6

$7,325

2

$3,592

7

$8,258

3

$4,525

8

$9,192

4

$5,458

9

$10,125

5

$6,392

10

$11,058

PSE was able to launch this program with the help of Avertra, the company that developed the application process and did it at no charge, so more funding could be made available to customers.

PSE continues to offer payment plans and allow customers to change bill’s due date for those who may need additional assistance. For more information on this program and other program offerings, visit www.pse.com/covidhelp.

 

 

Media Contact:

Jarrett Tomalin or Janet Kim, 1-888-831-7250, psenewsroom@pse.com


Puget Sound Energy is proud to serve our neighbors and communities in 10 Washington counties.
We're the state’s largest utility, supporting more than 1.1 million electric customers and nearly 900,000 natural gas customers.
For more about us and what we do, visit pse.com. Also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.