Privately held Puget Sound Energy purchases all of its natural gas and 80 percent of its electric power and resells it to customers. It supplies gas to about 1.25 million customers in six Western Washington counties, and electricity to roughly 2 million customers in nine counties west of the Cascades. Y2K concerns over the natural-gas pipeline are minimal. Much of the nation's pipeline was built before computers became prevalent, and Puget Sound Energy's Leatherman describes the company's gas operation as low-tech. Leatherman said he's been satisfied with the answers he's been getting.
Water falls down a pipe from the top of the dam, and turns the blades on a turbine.
Attached to the turbine is a governor - a sort of valve that controls the flow of water. The governor's primary purpose is to adjust pressure so that power generates at 60 cycles per second. They have already been advanced to the year 2000. When electrical current leaves the generator, it bounces over to transformers in a switching yard next to the power plant. The transformers adjust electrical pressure, or voltage, depending on consumption needs.