Enhancements to the energy grid include:
- Strengthening more than 600 main power lines, including those that service more than 700 critical community facilities;
- Placing more than 450 main power lines underground;
- Clearing vegetation – a major cause of power outages – from more than 135,000 miles of power lines;
- Completing more than 1.4 million pole inspections – and upgrading or replacing those that no longer meet our standards for strength; and
- Installing 4.8 million smart meters and 36,000 intelligent devices along the electric grid using advanced technology that helps detect problems and restore service faster when outages occur.
“We are actively preparing and are ready to respond to outages caused by the storm’s high winds,” said Manny Miranda, senior vice president of power delivery. “We fully anticipate that wind-blown debris, such as branches and palm fronds, will cause power outages. This means that our crews first must clear debris from power lines before restoring service. That said, we have 1,400 vegetation resources ready to go to work alongside our restoration crews, who we are pre-positioning in the areas that will be affected.”
A key focus of our work is to make the electric system stronger by upgrading the main power lines serving critical local facilities and other community needs. This prepares our system to better withstand severe weather and enables us to restore our customers’ service faster following major storms.
These upgrades include local facilities, including all major hospitals, and essentially all 911 facilities and emergency operations centers in the 35 Florida counties we serve. We’ve also upgraded lines serving facilities that address other community needs, such as pharmacies, grocery stores and gas stations. By year-end 2016, FPL will have strengthened all main power lines serving critical facilities.
FPL urges customers to review their family and business emergency plans, keep a close watch on the development of the storm and follow the advice of local government. Preparation and safety tips are available at FPL.com.
How we prepare for storm season
- Prior to storm season, we conduct extensive training to prepare our employees to respond safely and as quickly as possible if a storm threatens our service territory.
- We secure agreements for assistance from out-of-state utilities and electrical contracting companies in case additional restoration workers should be needed. We also order backup supplies and equipment, and we plan staging sites throughout our 35-county service territory.
- We work closely with local emergency officials to update lists of facilities that are critical to the community, such as hospitals, police and fire stations, communication facilities, water treatment plants and transportation providers.
- We also prepare and strengthen our infrastructure throughout the year by:
- Clearing tree limbs and branches from power lines;
- Inspecting poles for strength;
- Upgrading poles from wood to concrete or steel; and
- Inspecting power lines and equipment with infrared technology to detect issues the naked eye can’t see, and making any needed repairs.
