Keeping power flowing and crews safe: Inside a Chelan PUD system operator’s job

WENATCHEE — When the power goes out during Thanksgiving dinner, a car hits a utility pole or crews need electrical equipment shut down before beginning repairs, Russ Strong and his fellow system operators help coordinate what happens next.

They also watch over the work most customers never see: matching electricity generation to demand, tracking power moving between utilities and making sure a problem on one transmission line does not trigger another.

Strong, a senior system operator who recently marked 34 years with Chelan County PUD, gave commissioners an inside look at those responsibilities during what could have otherwise been a pretty standard “Safety Minute” scheduled for the Oct. 5 Board Commission meeting.

His description began with the power grid and ended with the people working on it.

“My safety part of my talk is it’s my job to get people home safely,” Strong said.

Strong joined the PUD after six years in the Navy operating nuclear power plants. He began as a hydro operator at Rock Island Dam and worked as a senior and chief operator at both Rock Island and Rocky Reach, with additional training at Lake Chelan Dam.

He moved into system operations in 2009.

“Basically, we are power grid operators for Chelan PUD,” he said.

Every hour, operators receive schedules identifying how much electricity the PUD needs to generate for county customers and its power sales. They make sure those instructions reach the powerhouses, then account for whether the electricity delivered and received matches the commitments.

That work involves connections with other utilities and power systems across the region, including the Bonneville Power Administration and entities in Canada and California.

Operators must also keep the system within operating limits. If the PUD or a neighboring utility loses a transmission line, they need to respond in ways that prevent other equipment from becoming overloaded and potentially setting off a cascading outage.

Strong said operators are certified through the North American Electric Reliability Corp. and must complete ongoing training to maintain that certification and keep up with changing standards.

At a utility the size of Chelan PUD, the job requires broad knowledge rather than a narrow specialty.

“Yeah, we’re a small utility, so we don’t really get to specialize,” Strong said. “We have to kind of wear a lot of hats.”

The responsibilities extend beyond electricity generation and transmission.

After hours, calls to the PUD come to system operators, who determine what help is needed and contact the appropriate employees. The problem might be a power outage, a fire, a damaged pole or even an overflowing toilet in a PUD park.

Someone is there around the clock, including holidays.

Strong recalled calls from customers whose Thanksgiving turkeys were still in the oven when their electricity went out, as well as an outage during a Seahawks Super Bowl appearance.

Those conversations can be difficult, but he said empathy and explaining the effort to restore service usually help.

For crews in the field, operators’ work carries a different kind of urgency.

Before linemen, substation wiremen or maintenance employees work on equipment that must be de-energized, operators research the system and determine where electricity needs to be shut off so the work can proceed safely.

During storms and wildfires, that coordination becomes especially demanding. Strong described the discomfort of knowing crews are working amid fires and evacuation orders while operators must maintain communication about where people are and which equipment remains energized.

“So it’s all teamwork, keeping everyone safe,” he said.

General Manager Kirk Hudson said system operators and hydro operators have the delegated authority to take immediate action to protect life, land and property without first seeking approval.

That authority places substantial responsibility on their training and judgment, he said.

Commissioner Randy Smith, who has served on the board for 20 years, said Strong’s presentation offered perhaps the most complete explanation of an operator’s work he had heard.

Commissioners may have visited the operations room and seen its screens and activity, Smith said, without understanding how operators continuously fit all those pieces together.

Strong also described the physical demands of the schedule: 12-hour shifts, early mornings and overnight work that can make adequate sleep difficult.

But to a visitor, an operations room can sometimes appear quiet.

Strong said tours are generally scheduled during calmer periods, which can leave people with the impression that little is happening. He compared it to a fire station where firefighters have time to rest because nothing is burning.

“They don’t realize if we’re not doing anything, things are going really well,” he said.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media