Clark Public Utilities honored for providing regional assistance

Hudson’s Bay — Clark Public Utilities received a national commendation from the American Public Power Association for its support in electric power restoration efforts around South Puget Sound and Western Oregon after the organization sent crews to assist Peninsula Light Co. and Pacific Power in February and early March. Those companies suffered widespread outages due to aggressive and repeated winter storms. A crew of four Clark Public Utilities linemen worked from Feb. 11 to 14 to restore power around Gig Harbor, clearing fallen trees and freeing downed power lines in forested terrain to restore power to Peninsula Light customers. From Feb. 25 to March 5, two crews and a superintendent were dispatched to Albany, Ore., and Roseburg, Ore., to work on lines located in extremely isolated and remote areas. Crews were required to carry in equipment on foot in Southwest Oregon, where residents had been without power for more than a week. “Once we ensured the safety and security of our own system and had confidence that the worst of the weather had missed the Southwest Washington region, we were quick to respond to requests for mutual aid assistance from our regional colleagues struggling to restore service to their customers,” Clark Public Utilities General Manager and CEO Wayne Nelson said in a release.