diff --git a/system_state.cc b/system_state.cc
index 2f7d0dd..d9d0818 100644
--- a/system_state.cc
+++ b/system_state.cc
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@
 namespace chromeos_update_engine {
 
 static const char kOOBECompletedMarker[] = "/home/chronos/.oobe_completed";
-static const char kPrefsDirectory[] = "/var/lib/update_engine/prefs";
 
 RealSystemState::RealSystemState()
     : device_policy_(NULL),
@@ -26,6 +25,11 @@
     return false;
   }
 
+  if (!powerwash_safe_prefs_.Init(FilePath(kPowerwashSafePrefsDir))) {
+    LOG(ERROR) << "Failed to initialize powerwash preferences.";
+    return false;
+  }
+
   if (!utils::FileExists(kSystemRebootedMarkerFile)) {
     if (!utils::WriteFile(kSystemRebootedMarkerFile, "", 0)) {
       LOG(ERROR) << "Could not create reboot marker file";