The following is a letter from Puget Sound Energy regarding Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” Order:
April 15, 2020
Building community partners:
As you are aware, under Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home – Stay Healthy” proclamation, commercial and residential construction was halted temporarily. In response, PSE suspended new line and service connections accordingly, continuing only with support of essential facilities.
In planning for the order being lifted on May 5: If your project was on our schedule for construction before the order:
- Your project manager or construction services representative will reach out to you to confirm your site is construction ready.
- Assuming your project is ready, you will be placed back on the schedule in the same order that it was removed.
- Be aware there may be some initial delays for extension of ROW permits (if needed), as well as ensuring locates, no park signs, and appropriate notices are given before construction can start.
- Our goal is to transition back as seamlessly as possible.
If you are a builder or contractor for natural gas, we have made some interim changes that will allow you to light up gas equipment and appliances, and allow our gas first responders to focus on emergencies and safety concerns:
- Conversions to natural gas, altered services or meter upgrades: a standards waiver has been issued that temporarily allows this work to be performed by the customer’s contractor instead of PSE. Please work with your project manager so that we can coordinate accordingly.
- New residential homes: this has not changed. Contractors will continue to light equipment and appliances in newly constructed, single-family residential homes.
As mentioned in our March 23 letter, PSE is requiring our staff and service providers to practice social distancing in the field and in the office, and will rely more on phone calls, emails and conference calls.
As we transition to a new but continuing-to-evolve “normal”, these changes including projects in the pipeline that continued forward as folks worked from home, and other unforeseen impacts may delay schedules. We will continue to work with you on your projects to minimize delays to the extent possible.
We are working to ensure we are here for our employees, customers and communities as the coronavirus (COVID-19) impacts the region. Thank you for understanding that the safety of our customers and employees remains our top priority and a deeply-held company value.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Tada
Director, Customer & System Projects
Puget Sound Energy
Booga Gilbertson
Vice President and Chief Operations Officer
Puget Sound Energy