Port of South Whidbey commissioners are hoping Washington State Ferries officials will keep the district in mind and spare a conduit when sourcing power for electric ferries.

During a meeting this week, the port commissioners provided feedback on a memorandum of understanding for a project that will electrify the Clinton ferry terminal. The Mukilteo-Clinton route is slated to receive two hybrid-electric boats constructed by Florida-based company Eastern Shipbuilding Group.

At a meeting earlier this year, a project manager approached the port district about gaining access to the Humphrey Road parking lot for the purpose of installing electrical equipment. Puget Sound Energy plans to bring power from the Langley substation down Highway 525 to the Port of South Whidbey’s property edge. This will mean the loss of some parking spaces in the lot, though how many and where exactly has not yet been determined.

The project will deliver 500 amps of power at 12.47 kilovolt to one of the slips at the Clinton terminal, according to the memorandum of understanding.

At the port meeting this week, Commissioner Curt Gordon said he would like to add a request to the MOU for an additional conduit for the port to use, for the purpose of transferring power down to a passenger-only ferry dock. Part of the MOU states that State Ferries will excavate a trench and install electrical conduit from Humphrey Road to the ferry terminal.

The port is hoping to rebuild a dock for an electric-powered, passenger-only ferry that will need a place to charge, just like the state ferries.

In addition to the conduit, Gordon said he would like more details on where the electrical equipment will be installed in the parking lot, since the port has to maintain nearby stairs.

Gordon acknowledged there would be some expense, and it’s not as simple as throwing an extra pipe into an open ditch.

“Personally, I just want this to be a condition, and I think it’s a very legitimate condition,” he said.