SEATTLE – Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is customers ask to maintain natural gas and electricity use through Saturday night after continued freezing temperatures and power outages at a natural gas storage facility in Lewis County.
Due to frigid temperatures in Western Washington, regional utilities are “experiencing higher energy usage than expected, and we need to reduce stress on the grid,” PSE said in a social media post.
Earlier Saturday afternoon, there was an outage at the Jackson Prairie underground natural gas storage facility in Chehalis, according to Andrew Padula, a media engagement consultant for PSE. The facility was restored Saturday evening.
PSE did not provide further information about the cause of the Jackson Prairie outage.
PSE co-owns Jackson Prairie, the largest natural gas storage deposit in the Pacific Northwest and the 14th largest in the country, according to its website. The reserve’s website states it can hold 44 billion cubic feet of natural gas and “can meet up to 25% of peak demand in the Pacific Northwest on our coldest days of winter.”
Puget Sound Energy is asking customers to conserve natural gas and electricity use during the evening hours. Due to the frigid temperatures facing our region, regional utilities are seeing higher energy usage than expected, and we need to reduce stress on the grid.
Customers are urged to set their thermostats to a lower setting and reduce their use of hot water for tasks such as washing dishes or washing clothes, dryers and other appliances.
The tool also provided tips for keeping heat inside your home by covering windows with curtains, placing rolled-up towels under doors where cool air flows, and making sure nothing is obstructing your heating system.
Western Washington is facing record cold temperatures in some parts, with many cities seeing temperatures in the low 20s and teens.
According to the National Weather Service in Seattle, a forecast low of 14 degrees Sunday morning will be the coldest temperature in Seattle since Nov. 14, 2010.
This is a developing story. Check back for Updates.