One day without electricity will help keep the lights on in the future, Puget Sound Energy officials are hoping.

The power will be shut off for about 2,000 residents and a handful of businesses from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 10 in the Clinton, Langley and Bayview areas as Puget Sound Energy workers connect the new Maxwelton substation to an existing transmission power grid.

The end result, Project Manager Jim Kearnes said, will be a sturdier power network less prone to outages caused by falling trees.

Built last year, the substation will take three transmission lines, two coming from North Whidbey and one from Langley, and route them to a single bus with circuit breakers. If a power outage or fault were to occur in one of the transmission lines, the line will be tripped while the others will stay in service. It is part of a $10 million project that began in 2010.

“Right now, Langley’s substation is exposed to tree fall or other outages on any transmission line south of Greenbank and Brooks Hill,” Kearnes said. “When that happens, Langley’s substation goes out and we can only shift part of its loads to other subs. This effort on Aug. 10 will reduce the exposure to those tree falls.”

There is currently only one substation on Brooks Hill Road that serves all of Langley, which often cannot handle the workload when power outages occur. The Maxwelton substation will serve as a second power conduit for residents in the area. The new substation is part of an electrical distribution system that transforms voltage into usable levels for customers.

Langley’s transmission line will be de-energized during the 12-hour process to prevent overloading the system.

“It’s like to trying to change the tire while going down the road,” Kearnes said. “You just have to pull over to the side and do the job and then get going again.”

Craw Road will be closed to traffic during the 12-hour window, while Coles Road will remain accessible locally without access to turning north onto Highway 525.

All traffic lights will remain operational.

Walt Blackford, Puget Sound Energy’s community services manager for Whidbey Island, said there will be minimal commercial interruption during the blackout.

Major business cores in Langley, Clinton and Bayview will be unaffected by the outage, Kearnes said, as well as the South Whidbey School District. Affected businesses in the area include Whidbey Island Distillery, Bailey’s Corner Store, and Spoiled Dog Winery.

Notifications via letter have been sent out to residents and businesses in the projected outage area.

Susan Harris, a cashier at Bailey’s Corner Store, said the Clinton business will be ready when the outage comes. They’ll have a generator running, as well as an outhouse for customers needing a bathroom break.

“We’re prepared,” Harris said in a phone interview Monday afternoon.

The Bayview Senior Center will also have their doors open for island residents without electrical power from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Clinton Community Hall will also be open to the public all day.