Approximately 2,300 Mason PUD 3 Customers on the Tahuya Peninsula will be impacted by a Ten-Hour Planned Outage on June 14

On Tuesday, June 14, customers on the Tahuya Peninsula will experience a planned power outage for approximately 10 hours from the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The outage is required to replace nine end-of-life transmission poles identified during the PUD’s pole inspection program in 2021. In order to accomplish this work in ten hours, all of Mason PUD 3’s line crews will work on this project, including a mutual-aid crew from Grays Harbor PUD.

This is extremely dangerous work. For the safety of the crews, the high-voltage lines must be de-energized. Since these transmission lines are the only path to the Union River Substation, and the Collins Lake Substation is fed from the Union River Substation, both substations must be taken offline. Normally, when a single PUD 3 substation is taken out of operation for maintenance, the utility can pick up the entire load from surrounding substations. While it isn’t possible in this case, many customers north of Belfair will be able to avoid the outage as PUD engineers and linemen will re-route power from the Belfair Substation. Similarly, customers along the north shore of Hood Canal will have power re-routed from the PUD’s Benson Substation through an underwater submarine cable crossing Hood Canal. Unfortunately, because there are two substations being taken out of service at the same time, it is not possible for the other substations to handle the load of all customers in the affected area.

Approximately 2,300 customers will be without power for the duration of the 10-hour project window. The PUD will notify customers in the affected area directly.

The transmission line being replaced spans from the Belfair Substation, through the Theler Wetlands, and connects to the Union River Substation near Sand Hill Road on Hwy 300 northwest of Belfair. The June 14th date was chosen because one of the poles is in the water and must be replaced during low tide. The PUD will be installing a ductile iron pole in that location. The project has been coordinated with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife as well as the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group to reduce the environmental impact.

During any outage, the PUD recommends unplugging sensitive appliances and electronic equipment until power has been restored for about 20 minutes. Also, especially with electronics, it is important to use surge protectors. Customers can visit www.pud3.org/prepared to find other tips and suggestions. It is especially important for customers with medical equipment or other health requirements, relying on a constant source of power, to have back-up generators or alternative accommodations arranged.

Providing safe and reliable services to the residents of Mason County is the PUD’s top priority. Proactive projects such as this play a part in the PUD’s national reliability ranking with the American Public Power Association as a Reliable Public Power Provider.