Submitted by OPALCO
OPALCO members onShaw Island and west of Youngren’s Pond and Loon Song Lane on Orcas will experience an overnight planned power outage beginning at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday,May 10. Power restoration is expected by 4 a.m., Thursday, May 11. This outage is necessary to make repairs to the transmission system where winter storms caused damage.
In some cases, OPALCO linemen can conduct maintenance projects while the lines are “hot” and keep the power on. The transmission system operates at 69,000 volts and it’s not safe for linemen to work on these lines without taking the system down. There will be crews on Shaw and Lopez working on maintenance projects to take advantage of this opportunity. OPALCO’s engineering team and line crew will work diligently to keep this – and all planned outages – to a minimum.
To keep updated about the outage, visit OPALCO’s dynamic outage map at www.opalco.com/outages. (Even if you don’t have power, smartphones and data services will be available). OPALCO outage call center is open 24/7 and the outage map is updated every 10 minutes.
OPALCO members are responsible for their own equipment and OPALCO encourages all members to install surge protection to safeguard electronic, computer and other sensitive equipment and appliances. To prepare for the outage, members may want to turn sensitive electronics and equipment off at the surge protector, or unplug them completely – and keep a flashlight handy. When the power is back on, please turn equipment, lights and appliances on slowly: one at a time, to help the system pick up the load. For more information on surge protection, to learn how to prepare for an outage and what to do during an outage, visit www.opalco.com/outages.
Orcas Power & Light Cooperative is a member-owned cooperative electric utility, serving more than 11,000 members on 20 islands in San Juan County. OPALCO provides electricity that is 95 percent greenhouse-gas free and is generated predominantly by hydroelectric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937.
