Brought to light by the death of Sammy, a German short-hair pointer who was electrified after stepping onto a metal plate last month, the issue of “stray voltage” in city streets has come to the forefront. Though Seattle City Light says the accident was an “isolated incident”, many more stories have emerged, and the city has taken flak from worried community members, who believe the lack of adequate inspections is to blame.
In response, City Light released a statement late last night announcing a briefing at 10:30 a.m. today regarding the organization’s new streetlight response plan. Here is a copy of the release:
City Light Update on Streetlight Response Plan
Superintendent to provide details on streetlight review effort
SEATTLE – Last month a dog stepped on an energized metal plate covering a small streetlight vault on Queen Anne Avenue. Late Monday, City Light received a call from a customer in the High Point area who was concerned that there might be a faulty streetlight in her neighborhood.
“We received a call from a customer who believed that a streetlight in her neighborhood may not be working properly,” says Superintendent of City Light Jorge Carrasco. “Crews investigated the streetlight on Tuesday, found that there were exposed wires in the lamphead and immediately repaired it. There was no damage or injury associated with this malfunctioning streetlight.”
Superintendent Carrasco will brief the media on the plans City Light has to inspect and to make repairs, if necessary, to any of the 20,000 metal streetlight poles and 10,000 metal “hand holes” (small streetlight vault covers) in the utility’s service territory.
Specific questions will be addressed at Thursday’s media briefing.
The briefing will be held today, Thursday, December 9 at 10:30 a.m. at the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 Fifth Avenue, Room 4050.