Anderson Island Power
Repairs Progressing
Repair Completion Date Estimated April 1
North Bend, WASHINGTON March 3, 2009 – Actions to identify and repair the damaged line that served as the main power source to some 1,100 residents on Anderson Island up until its failure on Jan. 31 are progressing on a rapid schedule and Tanner Electric administrators say they are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, according to Steve W. Walter, General Manager.
As electrical cooperative members affected by the outage will learn during a 6 p.m. informational meeting planned tomorrow night, March 4, at the Anderson Island Community Center, Tanner Electric has already filed all the necessary permit applications, has ordered six underwater splice kits to be used in the repair of the submarine cable and, on Feb. 28, awarded a contract for repairs to Harbor Offshore, Inc.
Now officials are expecting the repair barge to be fully mobilized in Seattle within two weeks and the fix to be completely finished – depending upon several key variables – by the first of April, Walter said.
“Of course, we need to have all the pieces come together to accomplish it by that date,” Walter said, adding that, “All the permits need to be approved by the various agencies, the crews need to be coordinated and the splices and other repair parts to be delivered on time,” Walter said.
“But, the two most vital pieces of this combination will be the weather and the condition of the cable once it is raised to the surface. The weather will need to cooperate, because if the seas are rough, the repair workers won’t be able to proceed with their plans on schedule,” Walter said. If the weather is conducive to the repair work, crewmen are expected to take five to seven days to splice the damaged cable location, and then additional cable testing for one or two days will be done before going off the generators. “If the remainder of the cable checks out okay after that, then we should still be on target for a completion date of April 1,” he added.
At the time Anderson Island is switched from its two, large-capacity temporary generators back to its permanent power supply, emergency utility rates will be suspended, Walter said.
“Getting the main power supply to Anderson Island back up and running will offer some welcome relief to residents in that community who have had to endure the difficulties associated with the power outage and then the installation of a temporary power supply during this past month,” Walter said.
It is those same cooperative members who Walter credited with turning the recent hardship into a prime example of what residents can do when working together to save energy. “Conservation has been going extremely well out on the island,” he said. “The good weather, coupled with the great effort put forth by our members, has reduced the electricity load consumption by roughly 30-40 percent in that area over this previous month,” he added. In fact, “Our fuel use in the generators has actually been averaging 115gal/hour over the last couple of weeks,” Walter said. “That is down from an anticipated 170gal/hour if no conservation had been realized.” Any Anderson Island residents still in need of compact fluorescent light bulbs may obtain them by contacting the Riviera Community Club.
Please stay tuned to www.tannerelectric.coop for more updates on the situation as it develops.
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