Location : Seattle,
Washington
User Since : 1999
Service Area : 132
square miles
Network : 2,470
miles of overhead power distribution
lines
Poles in Service
: 110,000
Customers :
345,000
Population Served
: 680,000
1999 saw the very
first Field Liner user in the USA,
Seattle City Light.
Seattle City Light is Seattle’s
Municipal Electric Utility, founded
in 1902 and is owned by the citizens
of Seattle. In 2006, the asset value
of Seattle City Light was in excess
of $2billion. With over 100,000
utility poles in service, Seattle
City Light manages around 7% of all
Utility Pole assets in Washington
State providing nearly 2500 miles of
overhead power distribution lines
and serving an area of 132 square
miles. The
2006 Annual Report offers a good
understanding of the priorities and
positioning of Seattle City Light
Environmental
concerns were the primary drivers
behind the decision of Seattle City
Light to use the Field Liner,
recognising the potential
environmental impacts of leachates
from pressure treated Utility Poles.
Seattle
City Light's stated Mission is :
To provide stable, competitively
priced and environmentally
sound
electricity to customers.
|
The environment
plays a major part in Seattle City
Light’s priorities and their
Environmental Policy statement
reflects this fact:
|
|
|
|
Seattle City Light is
committed to very high
standards of environmental
protection. We will operate in
a manner that is compatible
with the long-term
sustainability of the
ecosystems that we affect. We
believe that sound
environmental performance is a
key component of sound
business performance.
Environmental stewardship is a
responsibility of all Seattle
City Light employees.
|
|
 |
|
To demonstrate our commitment,
we will:
Comply:
-
Meet or exceed the
requirements of all
applicable environmental
laws, regulations, policies
-
Be a model for others in
meeting our hydro license
requirements.
Conserve:
Protect Natural Resources:
-
Manage our business
activities to avoid,
minimize, or mitigate
impacts to the ecosystems we
affect.
-
Provide resource
enhancements when
opportunities arise.
Prevent Pollution:
Continually Improve:
-
Set high environmental
standards and evaluate our
performance against these
standards.
-
Incorporate environmental
costs, risks, and impacts
when making decisions.
-
Train all employees on this
environmental policy and the
key environmental impacts
and responsibilities of
their work.
Lead:
-
Collaborate with customers,
agencies, tribes and other
organizations to promote
sound science and achieve
common objectives.
-
Be proactive in identifying
and addressing emerging
environmental issues.
-
Be a model for others by
offsetting our greenhouse
gas emissions.
|
The decision to
utilise Field Liners, then known as
Biotrans Field Liners, was made in
1999. In 2003, the
article below was published by
www.electricenergyonline.com
The Near-Perfect Utility Pole
Seattle City Light Teams With J.H.
Baxter for Environmentally Preferred
Utility Pole
"With the unique combination of the
best wood, an environmentally
friendly preservative, and the
Biotrans Field Liner, we feel we
have the near perfect wood utility
pole," says Brad Combs, a senior
Pole Engineer for Seattle City
Light.
If this sounds like a pretty bold
statement, don’t discount the
history of one of the nation’s
largest municipally owned electric
utilities. In the 1970’s Seattle
City Light was one of the first
utilities in the U.S. to use poles
treated with Copper Naphthenate (CuNap),
a more environmentally friendly,
non-restricted use wood treatment
chemical. Now, over 20 years later,
Seattle City Light is once again at
the forefront of the industry
specifying Copper Naphthenate
thermal butt-treated Western Red
cedar utility poles with polywrap
liners to help bring power to their
345,000 customers.
Here’s the winning combination as
Combs sees it — an environmentally
preferable preservative chemical,
Copper Naphthenate; the most
efficient treatment procedure,
thermal butt-treatment; and extra
reassurance with the poly wrap
Biotrans Field Liners. The Biotrans
Field Liners are designed to prevent
leaching into the surrounding soil
by keeping the preservative in the
wood, and increase the lifespan of
the pole. Seattle City Light uses
Western Red Cedar for all poles 60
feet or less. Poles longer than that
are full-length treated Douglas fir.
The cedar poles are manufactured,
treated and wrapped at J.H. Baxter’s
treating plant in Arlington, WA. In
2000, Combs presented a challenge to
J.H. Baxter and others: "If you can
meet AWPA standards for penetration
and retention with this product,
we’ll change our material
specification and put a new pole
contract out for bid." A pilot
project was undertaken at Baxter to
determine the feasibility of
producing Copper Naphthenate thermal
butt-treated poles with liners. JH
Baxter was able to meet all
applicable standards with this
process and went on to become the
successful bidder for that contract.
"We’re pleased and proud to be part
of this environmental breakthrough."
Says Georgia Baxter, JH Baxter
president and CEO.
Although official field tests have
not been concluded on the new poles,
a great deal of anecdotal data shows
positive effects of this new type of
pole. Previous poles that were used
have decayed more rapidly and have
damaged vegetation surrounding them.
Copper Naphthenate butt-treated
poles have shown no signs of early
decay and as a result of the applied
liners, vegetation grows right up to
the base of the poles, according to
Combs.
Combs has done his homework. He
rejected the alternate materials of
concrete, steel and fiberglass for
several reasons, but mostly because
of his line crews. "This would turn
their world upside down," says
Combs, referring to the necessary
changes in work practices and needed
equipment. "Now we have a pole that
we expect will prove to be as inert
to the environment as steel,
concrete or fiberglass at one-fourth
the cost, while linemen are still
able to use their normal gear and
our equipment and practices stay the
same."
"There is every indication that the
Cu-Nap butt-treated wood is doing
exactly what we want it to do. With
the applied liners, the
preservatives will penetrate further
into the wood over time and
therefore increase its durability
and lifespan, while remaining
extremely safe to our environment,"
said Combs.
Seattle City Light started with a
public vote in 1902 to construct a
dam and generator on the Cedar
River. Seattle City Light was
established as a utility in 1910 by
the City of Seattle and looks upon
environmental stewardship as a core
value. They approved an
Environmental Policy Statement early
on. The language in this historic
document is powerful, naming among
their many objectives to "perform
beyond strict regulatory compliance"
and to "seek the commitment of all
employees to environmental
stewardship."
Today, in
2007,
Seattle City Light continue to
use the Two Piece Field Liner,
supplied by Protective Packaging and
installed by their pole supplier,
Stella Jones (formally J H
Baxter) and, it is believed, will
continue to use Field Liners for all
new pole installations because of
their clear environmental benefits
combined with the economic benefits
that also accrue.
|
|
