FPL continues to make improvements to enhance service reliability to customers in good weather and bad
JUNO BEACH, FL — Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) continues to upgrade its system in the Miramar and Pembroke Pines areas as part of its ongoing work to strengthen the power grid and improve service reliability. Company investments, which include strengthening power lines and power poles, trimming trees around power lines and installing smart grid technology, help make the grid more reliable day-today and more storm-resilient.
“We continue to build a stronger and smarter electric grid to provide our customers with reliable service year around,” said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. “Our on-going investments in strengthening the electric grid and utilizing advanced smart grid technology help us deliver electricity our customers can count on in good weather and bad. This was never more evident than during last year’s hurricane season.”
FPL’s investments to the grid were tested last year during Hurricane Matthew and demonstrated its benefits to customers. FPL restored 99 percent of customers affected by Hurricane Matthew by the end of two full days of restoration following the hurricane’s exit from its service area. Smart grid automated switches on FPL’s system prevented 118,000 customer interruptions, and strengthened main power lines performed 30 percent better than non-strengthened main power lines. Furthermore, no FPL transmission poles or hardened main power line poles failed.
For everyday reliability, strengthened power lines perform approximately 40 percent better than lines that have not been strengthened, which improves reliability and speeds restoration efforts during severe weather such as afternoon summer thunderstorms.
2017 improvements in the Miramar and Pembroke Pines areas
When the planned 2017 work is completed, FPL will have made the following improvements in and near Mira-mar and Pembroke Pines since 2006:
- Strengthened 37 main power lines, including those that serve all critical and community services, such as Memorial Hospital, Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire-Rescue Emergency Medical Services communications tower, local 911 emergency communications centers, South Florida State Hospital and Pembroke Pines Police Department, which are necessary for communities to recover after a storm;
- Cleared tree branches and vegetation — a major cause of power outages — from 299 miles of power lines every year, and more than 3,295 miles since 2006;
- Inspected all 15,943 power poles every eight years, strengthening or replacing those that no longer meet the company’s standards for strength;
- Installed smart grid technology, including 27 automated switches on main power lines and 722 automated switches on smaller power lines serving neighborhoods, to help detect problems and restore service faster when outages occur; and
- Inspected 218 main power lines and equipment using infrared technology to detect issues before they cause a power interruption.
“FPL has the most reliable service of any investor-owned energy company in Florida, but we are never satisfied,” said Manny Miranda, senior vice president of power delivery for FPL. “We’re working hard every day to provide our customers within the Miramar and Pembroke Pines areas with electric service they can count on.
This includes several new projects in the area, such as strengthening the main power line to a middle school.”