UPDATE: 20-hour power outage in Westwood

12:09 AM: Thanks for the tip! Power’s out for 191 customers north of Westwood Village, according to Seattle City Light. The outage started just before midnight and is attributed to “equipment failure.”

9:49 AM: Still out.

11:11 AM: We found two SCL trucks on Thistle by Chief Sealth IHS, but no crews in view.

5:26 PM: Dorinda mentioned in a comment below that the crew is in a nearby alley, so we went over there. They’re using a vacuum truck now. Neighbors say they’d been told the problem is a “conduit break” and that it’s taking so long because they have to excavate to find what’s broken.

7:42 PM: Just talked with Jenn Strang of SCL. She says what’s taking them so long is that the trouble is far beyond what they first thought – at first it was a cable failure, then they got in and discovered “crushed conduit and some other things that needed to be fixed,” and that led to a much longer repair time than they’d usually need. She says they hope to be done “soon” – provided they don’t find anything else that needs to be fixed.

8 PM: Moments later, power returned, after almost 20 hours.

16 Replies to "UPDATE: 20-hour power outage in Westwood"

  • Ts May 7, 2023 (9:00 am)

    Any updates as the expected time of power return has come and gone a few times

    • WSB May 7, 2023 (9:43 am)

      I usually add this but, the restoration estimates are completely useless – City Light itself has said so, which begs the question of why they even post them.

      • Ts May 7, 2023 (3:11 pm)

        I would have to agree since the outage is no longer on the map. Says 5 outages with 7 customers affected

  • A local May 7, 2023 (2:18 pm)

    Well, I woke up last night to get a drink of water and noticed I had no power. I didnt think much of it, figured they have it on by morning and went back to sleep.This is ridiculous. This little 2 block radius appears to be the only place in the city with an outage, but its taking them forever to fix it. Something tells me if the only place in the city without power was up in Laurelhurst, they wouldnt be powerless for 14 hours and counting…

    • Ts May 7, 2023 (7:28 pm)

      This is not the first time we’ve had our power out due to equipment failure. I think it is ridiculous that it is so hard to find out what is going on and to have it keep happening.

  • Michele May 7, 2023 (3:51 pm)

    Any updates on this yet besides what’s on their outage map? We had to drive up to Mount Vernon, but Im REALLY hoping power is back by the time we get home. When we left, the crews were working down the alley between the condos in between 25th and 26th. Fingers crossed my freezer is staying frozen!

  • Dorinda May 7, 2023 (3:55 pm)

    They are working in alley between 25th and 26th – most of the day. 

  • Jim May 7, 2023 (5:21 pm)

    Still no luck. They pushed the restoration ETA from 4pm to 6pm. I have a quality power bank that I use for camping (or to jump start the car if need be) but I’m starting to think an actual electric portable power station like a Jackery may be in order. Would be awesome to have for camping. But the power seems to go out in this neighborhood all the time and I would like to be able to power a couple lights and keep a couple pieces of tech charged up. Wish Seattle City Light would give some kind of actual information instead of keeping us in the dark (both physically and metaphorically lol.)

    • A local May 7, 2023 (6:34 pm)

      Now its 9. Fortunately my “can charge a laptop” powerbank was charged but it looks like we are all going to be sitting in the dark tonight.

  • Kaitlin May 7, 2023 (5:53 pm)

    Do we know why power outages are so frequent in this area? Pairing that with semi regular elevator issues in my building, it leads to ADA accessibility issues. 

  • WSB May 7, 2023 (7:35 pm)

    Usually an outage of this size is below the radar of SCL media relations after-hours, but I contacted them anyway since this has obviously dragged on way beyond the typical duration for outages. I’m told someone will get back to me soon …

  • WSB May 7, 2023 (7:45 pm)

    Added above, the explanation. There’s still another followup ahead regarding HOW that all happened, but for now we have the WHAT, and they hope to wrap up “soon.” – TR

    • A local May 7, 2023 (7:46 pm)

      Its on now as of 7:45.

  • Dorinda May 7, 2023 (7:52 pm)

    Power back 

  • Gerdin May 7, 2023 (7:54 pm)

    I’ve got the powa!

  • Roxy May 7, 2023 (7:57 pm)

    Power came back on for me around 750p, after being out for almost 20 hrs.  

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