Seattle Public Utilities is currently doing work at the former electrical substation at the south end of Laurelhurst Park near the tennis courts at 4502 NE 41st Street,.
In September 2019 SPU salvaged the old Laurelhurst Substation equipment which was decommissioned.
Seattle City Light told the Laurelhurst Blog Staff, at the time, that the equipment was no longer needed, but the substation property would remain with one high voltage switch still in service.
SPU said that the benefits of decommissioning the equipment has given the customers better system reliability by moving from the phasing out 4,000 volt system to the current 26,000 volt distribution system. Another benefit is removing the hazard of having thousands of gallons of dielectric oil removed from the existing transformers on-site. All of the aging equipment was also removed.
In May 2014, LCC wrote in their Laurelhurst Letter that neighbors should consider emailing City Council to support surplus Electrical Substations being turned into Park space rather than a new development.
SPU said that the benefits of decommissioning the equipment has given the customers better system reliability by moving from the phasing out 4,000 volt system to the current 26,000 volt distribution system. Another benefit is removing the hazard of having thousands of gallons of dielectric oil removed from the existing transformers on-site. All of the aging equipment was also removed.
In May 2014, LCC wrote in their Laurelhurst Letter that neighbors should consider emailing City Council to support surplus Electrical Substations being turned into Park space rather than a new development.
Scott Thompson, with Seattle City Light, told the Laurelhurst Blog at the time that "other small substations like Laurelhurst have been taken out of service in other parts of our service territory and some of those properties are being reviewed for possible sale now that we are no longer using them. That is not the case in Laurelhurst."
Seattle City Light completed the upgrade of power lines from 4,000 to 26,000 Volts to the south portion of Laurelhurst in January of 2011. The boundaries for the upgrade were NE 38th Street on the north, NE 33rd Street on the south, East Laurelhurst Drive NE on the east and 43rd Avenue NE on the west. Old cable was removed and replaced with newer, more reliable cables.
The SPU website says about the current project:
Project Details
Electrical Improvements at Laurelhurst Substation
Posting Date: 1/12/2021
Contact: Rose Peterson - Electrical Service Representative
Phone: (206) 684-4986
Project Overview
Seattle City Light crews will be working inside the Laurelhurst Substation to remove aging equipment and install new electrical conduit.
Construction Work Area
Project Benefits
This work is needed to upgrade the electrical infrastructure in the Laurelhurst neighborhood.
Project Impacts
- Crews will be working inside the substation to remove an old transformer concrete pad and other associated equipment. Crews will also trench and install new electrical conduit.
- An excavator will be used during construction, which may produce some loud noises.
- Maintenance power outages are not planned during this work.
- Customers can expect some parking, sidewalk and traffic restrictions along NE 41st Street.
SCHEDULE
Construction Start: mid-January 2021
Duration: Up to two months
Daily Work Schedule: Mon-Fri: 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Sat: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
