HANSVILLE — When Puget Sound Energy was advised to meet with residents in May about a temporary winter generator, the company was met with many questions and some strong opposition to installing such a machine.

But PSE officials decided to meet with residents again June 12 to explain the power situation in further detail and offered to create a resident task force to ensure Hansville would not only get what it wants but what it needs as well.

Nearly 15 residents listened to five PSE employees, who ranged from a senior engineer to the vice president of community affairs, explain how the company and community could work together.

While PSE officials said they are working to come up with a permanent solution that would increase power capacity to meet the growth in Hansville, they are also searching for a temporary solution in case the electricity does go out during the winter.

“With growth and some severe weather or a singular event, we could see where demand could exceed capacity to supply,” said senior PSE Engineer Dave Terry.

Currently, power in Hansville comes from a submersed cable that runs along the floor of Gamble Bay and connects to a substation in Port Gamble. Engineers said they are concerned that while the risk is low of this cable being damaged, it’s a risk they don’t want to take.

The original proposed solution was to bring a temporary generator and site it near the North Kitsap Fire & Rescue Fire Station on Twin Spits Road during the winter time — when there is a risk that severe weather could knock out power. The generator would not be installed in Hansville, but brought to the area only when it is needed, Terry said.

The original backup station for Hansville, located in Kingston, doesn’t have the capacity to supply the needed energy during extreme conditions, Terry said.

“Hansville just needs more capacity — the power demand has doubled since 1980,” he added.

PSE has looked at various options, said Project Manager Ben Hodge, adding a temporary generator is the best short-term solution while PSE works on a long-term solution to increase power supply.

Residents’ main concerns about the temporary generator dealt with exhaust emitted and noise created.

Hodge said there will be some exhaust, but it will be held to a minimum as the generators are required to use the best available controlled technology. Additionally, PSE must follow emissions standards and the machine would be thoroughly maintained.

“We’ll do what we can to minimize emissions,” Hodge said.

PSE generators also use ultra-low sulfur fuel. Hodge also said the company realizes how quiet the community is and assured residents they won’t be able to hear the generator.

“You’ll be able to ignore our generators, I’m pretty confident,” Hodge said.

PSE wants to bring up a mobile generator to show folks what size, noise and type of machine that would be used during emergency uses.

Residents brought up several concerns, such as why PSE couldn’t construct another substation closer, what the long term effects of the exhaust would be on residents’ health, and how loud the generator would really be.

“We would like Hansville to validate PSE’s extent on this,” Hodge said, noting this is why they keep approaching the community to find out what they want.

Hodge said that the group would be involved in evaluating the noise level with the demo generator and help choose and select sites for other power sources, as well as exploring alternative solutions.

To join the task force, interested residents can call Hodge at (425) 462-3923 or Don McDaniel at (360) 475-7045.