POULSBO — As Little Norway continues its rapid transformation from a sleepy Norwegian village into a thriving city, its need for power has grown as well.

In an effort to keep up with that demand and that of the entire county, Puget Sound Energy is constructing a new electric distribution substation southwest of the intersection of Lincoln Road and Maranatha Lane. The new facility will be connected to the Foss Corner-USN Keyport transmission line.

“We were hoping to bring it online at the end of 2006, but weather and other circumstances got us a little off schedule,” said PSE spokeswoman Dorothy Bracken.

Because of the delays, Bracken said PSE expects to have the facility completed some time in March, when it should be brought online.

Once the facility is running it will be screened from public view by a security fence and landscaping, she said.

“There is a rising demand (for energy) in the North Kitsap area, and we are hoping it will increase redundancy,” Bracken said.

That redundancy will allow PSE to redirect power to the substation in case of an outage in some of the affected areas, she said.

“It provides reinforcement. We’re always planning for the future,” she said.

The facility should meet the North Kitsap area’s needs for a few more decades and will also increase the service reliability to existing customers, Bracken said.

Before the Poulsbo City Council enacted a moratorium on development near critical areas and a moratorium on Planned Unit Developments, more than 500 homes were proposed for Noll Road area, which is directly east of the new facility.

Councilmen Ed Stern and Mike Regis view the substation not necessarily as a reflection of the city’s growth, but as a countywide upgrade of electrical facilities.

“Last year, they put in high power poles along Clear Creek (Road),” Stern said. “There’s been a general upgrade of facilities in the area.”

The majority of PSE’s projects were approved by the county, so the city hasn’t had much direct impact on them, he said.

“We need reliable capacity, and obviously, I’m happy to see it,” Stern said.

Regis said the power company’s ongoing facilities improvements are determined not so much by the city’s plans, but by an examination of the needs for a much larger area.

“It’s an essential upgrade of facilities to take care of the whole county,” Regis said.