If the Power Goes Out

The PUD takes pride in serving you with continuous, reliable electric service. However, occasionally, your power may be interrupted by a blown fuse, a bad storm, or a failure in the line equipment serving your home. Links to information about portable generators and power outage kits are to your left.

During major storms, we will post outage and repair information in our Newsroom area. It will also be linked off the home page for easy access.

Customers who rely on life-support equipment should have a backup plan for power outages
It’s critical that customers using special medical equipment at home, such as respirators, consider purchasing a backup generator and/or have other contingency plans in place. They should set up plans with friends or relatives to get to a site with electricity and/or identify emergency centers at local social service agencies and churches. While the PUD strives to provide continuous electric service to customers, it cannot guarantee that occasional power outages or failures won’t occur. During the winter months the likelihood of power outages increases due to seasonal storms.

If a fuse blows or a circuit breaker trips, it is probably due to overloading too much equipment on one circuit, defective wire, defective equipment, or a short circuit from bare wires touching.

What should you do? Try to find the cause and correct it.

If using fuses, pull the main switch (stand on dry board, keep extra fuses and flashlight handy, and NEVER use a penny as a substitute fuse). Replace the burned-out fuse with a new one of correct size. Turn on the main switch.
If it’s a breaker, reset the handle.

If the fuse blows or the breaker trips again, recheck for the cause. If you can’t find the cause, call an electrician.

If all the power is out in your house, the trouble may be outside the home. If only your home is affected, the PUD should be called promptly. To facilitate rapid servicing of trouble calls, please provide us with the following information:

Name of customer
Street and house number
Status of neighborhood lights

Power outages can be caused by a number of things, such as trees falling onto power lines or by car accidents involving power poles. If the power goes out, please remember these important tips:

Stay away from any fallen power lines, including lines that are sagging or broken. Also, don’t cut up fallen trees that are entangled with power lines. The safe thing to do is assume all power lines are alive and can be a killer if touched.
When the power goes out, try to remember what was turned on at the time and turn those items off. It’s especially important to turn off anything that has a heating element, such as the electric range, an iron, or a toaster oven. They could cause a fire when the power is restored. Turning switches off not only helps prevent fires, it will help the PUD restore power faster. If too many things are turned on when the power is restored, the electric system could be overloaded and may go out again.
Unplug all electronic equipment, such as TVs, the microwave oven, computers, stereos, and the garage door opener. The process of restoring power could cause voltage fluctuations that might damage sensitive electronics.
Don’t try to power your house by plugging a portable generator into a wall outlet. The generator will back feed electricity through the meter and out into the neighborhood, which will cause a severe safety hazard to neighbors and line workers. If using a portable generator, make sure the appliances being powered are plugged directly to the generator or make sure your home is disconnected from the PUD’s electric system with a transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician.
Make sure you have fresh batteries for flashlights. Always exercise extreme caution if you use candles or oil lamps. Never leave them unattended and keep them away from furniture, drapes, and other flammable materials.
Keep your refrigerator and freezer closed as much as possible. The contents should be good for at least 24 hours if the door is kept closed. After that, use dry ice for the continued protection of your food.
Stay warm. Choose a small room with few windows as your emergency living quarters. Keep the windows, drapes, and doors closed. Also, dress warmly. Wear several layers of clothes and don’t forget to wear a hat.
Conserve water, especially in areas where well pumps and pumping stations may be without power.
If you use a portable heater that burns liquid fuel, make sure you have a window open for ventilation.
Call the PUD if you have specific information about the location of a downed tree or if you see a power line on the ground. Outages can be reported by calling (425) 783-1000.
Listen to the radio for outage report updates. KIRO (710 AM), KOMO (1000 AM), KRKO (1380 AM), KVI (570 AM), and KNWX (770 AM) work with the PUD to report updates during a major storm.