Port Seeks Extra Conduit as Ferry Power Project Arrives

Port of South Whidbey commissioners have formally requested that Washington State Ferries spare an additional electrical conduit when Puget Sound Energy brings service to the Humphrey Road parking lot for the Clinton terminal electrification project. The work will bring 500 amps of power at 12.47 kV to a single slip on the Mukilteo to Clinton route, which is slated to receive hybrid electric vessels, and will require running lines from the Langley substation down Highway 525 to the edge of Port of South Whidbey property.

At a recent port meeting Commissioner Curt Gordon pressed for language adding a requirement for an extra conduit to be included in the memorandum of understanding between the port and the ferry system. Gordon noted adding the conduit is not free or trivial but said making it a condition is “a very legitimate condition.” The additional conduit would allow the port to transfer power later to a passenger only ferry dock that the port hopes to rebuild and to charge an electric passenger only vessel if and when that infrastructure is pursued.

The immediate construction will have a tangible impact on the Humphrey Road parking lot. Officials say the process of bringing power to the property edge will remove some parking spaces, a change that will affect commuters, island residents and visitors who use the Clinton terminal and the nearby neighborhood. For a community that relies on ferry connections for daily travel, even temporary losses of parking matter for access and convenience.

The port request reflects a broader local and regional shift toward electrification of marine services. By urging planners to spare a conduit now, commissioners are seeking to reduce the cost and disruption of retrofitting the site later. The port will still face decisions about funding and siting for any passenger only dock rebuild, and the upfront construction by Puget Sound Energy and Washington State Ferries will set the parameters for how much of that future work will be straightforward and how much will require additional negotiation.

For Island County residents the conversation is about more than wires and poles. It ties into long term choices about transportation resilience, greenhouse gas reductions and local access to the ferry network. As the Clinton terminal project proceeds, port leaders will continue to press for protections and options that preserve the island's future ability to support electric ferry services while managing near term impacts on parking and neighborhood circulation.