Last week Seattle City Light announced a new plan to tackle the cause of Queen Anne’s frequent power outages and prevent future blackouts: injecting the neighborhood’s aging  underground cables with silicone. City Light is holding a meeting tonight, Wednesday, May 26 at 6:30 p.m. (at the Queen Anne Community Center, Room 3, located at 1901 1st Ave W.) to brief residents on the project, what the work will entail, and answer any questions or concerns.

Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell sent out this message to community members this week encouraging participation in tonight’s meeting:

Beginning this June, Seattle City Light will begin a 10-week underground cable injection project on Queen Anne that will increase reliability of electrical service and add 25 years of life to aging underground cables.  City Light is working with a company called Novinium to inject the aging underground cables with silicone.  The process fills cracks that have developed in the cable insulation that can lead to power failures.  The project is planned to begin in mid-June and is estimated to last about 10 weeks.  On a typical day, crews will work between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.  Cables determined to be beyond repair will have to be replaced and customers will be notified at least one week in advance of any planned outages which may be necessary to replace the cable.

The silicone injection process is a great alternative to digging up and replacing old cables because it will cost less and be less disruptive to the neighborhood while extending the life of the existing cables. The process has been successfully applied to projects in Leschi, View Ridge, Laurelhurst and Arroyo Beach. When we can employ methods that enhance reliability, cost less and minimize disruption to customers, it is a step in the right direction.

After all of the blackouts in Queen Anne over the last year, the neighborhood is about to experience a summer sprinkled with a few more planned power outages. Seattle City Light announced today plans to spend ten weeks over the summer working to extend the life of Queen Anne’s old underground cables by 25 years. How? By injecting the cables with silicone, a process City Light and a company called Novinium say will fill cracks that develop in the protective insulation of the cables as they age, leading to cable failures and power outages.

“Silicone injection is a cost-effective way to increase the reliability of service for our customers while limiting the need to dig up and replace the old cables,” Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said in a press release today. “We are using this process successfully throughout our service territory, including recent projects in Leschi, View Ridge, Laurelhurst and Arroyo Beach.”

City Light plans to begin to project mid-June and says the schedule will involve a number of planned outages.

Crews first test the cables to determine if the injection process can work. If the cable condition is satisfactory, crews come back later to inject the silicone into the lines. Cables found to be in such poor condition that injection will not work, will be replaced.

Residents and businesses that will be affected by the planned outages will be notified at least one week in advance. City Light says almost all of the work will take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

City Light will be hosting a community meeting concerning the project on Wednesday, May 26 at the Queen Anne Community Center, Room 3, located at 1901 1st Ave W. Residents are invited to attend and voice any questions or concerns. In the meantime, you can keep track of planned and ongoing City Light construction projects here, or contact Mark Vanoss at (206) 684-3279 or mark.vanoss@seattle.gov.