PUD to go underground for some critical power lines
December 5th, 2006 - 6:19am
(Port Angeles) -- Three of the hardest-hit areas of last week's storms are slated for under-grounding of utility lines by the
Clallam County Public Utility District.
PUD commissioners yesterday approved contracts for laying
underground power lines to two west end, and one east
end area, each a big problem area when the high winds
come. Two-point-one miles of the Joyce-Piedmont Road,
will be undergrounded by City Pacific Services, at a cost
of $676,830-dollars. Potelco Industries was the low
bidder on the other two projects: The LaPush Road
re-route project, 6-point-53 miles, with D and H
Enterprises of Forks doing the excavation work: and
the East Sequim Bay Road, about 3-miles of heavily-treed
roadway, at a cost of $985-thousand dollars. Potelco
may also install a spare conduit line for fiber-optic
services at a later date. The cost of undergrounding
comes down to about $300-thousand dollars a mile, which
is one reason it hasn't been done in most areas of the
county, other than in new construction, where it's more
cost-effective.
The Commissioners told an audience of concerned
citizens that they have a very extensive program of
tree-cutting and clearing, but in a storm of very high
winds, and heavier-than-usual wet snow, such as last
week, conditions were just too severe for the available
manpower. The PUD has received numerous complaints about problems reaching the utility during the height of the power outages last week. Still, many of the audience thanked the PUD and their crewmen for valiant efforts and long hours this past week.
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