Defective street lights found in Shoreline

Report from Seattle City Light

Seattle City Light conducted extensive testing on metal streetlights and associated facilities during the weekend and identified 16 more locations with contact voltage of at least 30 volts. In each case, City Light crews immediately cut off power and started repairs. No people or pets were injured in any of the incidents.

Inspection teams made great progress toward completing tests on all metal streetlight poles and associated facilities. The final count of streetlights and associated groundcover facilities could reach about 34,000 pieces of equipment. A final count will be available once all testing of our service territory is complete.

We estimate that about 6,000 pieces of equipment remain to be tested. City Light expects those tests will be finished within a week, depending on the weather conditions.

The inspections are part of City Light’s ongoing safety testing efforts. City Light initiated testing after the death of a dog that stepped on an energized groundcover plate in Queen Anne in November and two other unrelated reports of energized metal streetlight equipment. Two contractors – Davey Resources Group and Power Survey Co. – are conducting the testing.

City Light’s contractors have identified a total of 34 locations with contact voltage in addition to seven previously recorded by City Light for a total of 41.

The industry average for contact voltage potential is 0.3 percent. City Light’s finding to date is 0.15 percent.

Locations in Shoreline where the latest contact voltage incidents were found:

• A pole near 30th Avenue NE and NE 145th Street, 51 volts, a faulty traffic sign was repaired
• A streetlight near 10th Avenue NW and NW 175th Place, Shoreline, 68 volts, bad wiring, power cut off, repairs pending
• A streetlight near Meridian Avenue N. and N. 147th Street, Shoreline, 82 volts, bad wiring, power cut off, repairs pending
• A streetlight near NW 175th Place and 10th Avenue NW, Shoreline, 93 volts, bad wiring, power cut off, repairs pending

City Light began the inspections in the City of Seattle, then moved to the south portion of their coverage area. They just recently started inspecting in Shoreline, and have not finished. Lake Forest Park will be next.

In the meantime, keep your dogs away from light poles.