We flip a switch and the lights come on. Normally, we don't give it a second thought.
Until the power goes out.
In his weekly column, AWB President Don Brunell writes about the hard work and coordination needed to restore power after a triple-whammy snow storm, ice storm and wind storm hit western Washington earlier this month.
More than 280,000 Puget Sound Energy customers lost power and repair crews were in the field around the clock for five days, Brunell writes.
Still, it wasn't as bad as the 2006 windstorm that knocked out power to 1.5 million customers, almost half of them served by PSE.
The utility learned from that storm and will undoubtedly study its response to this one.
"While the final analysis of the 2012 storm will be months in coming, PSE and other affected utilities responded well," Brunell writes. "It's a relief to have the power back on -- and to know we have dedicated, skilled and knowledgeable people working around the clock in massive emergencies."
