Substation issue, downed line led to power outage
※ Download: Keys energy power outage
The company said it must replace nearly 3,000 power poles and 950 miles of wire across Florida. Duke Energy -More than 12,000 restoration workers have been mobilized to quickly restore power to all customers.
Residents should not touch or try to move downed power lines, Gov. Buried lines were less likely to lose power because the primary cause of the overhead outages were falling branches and flying debris, according to Olnick. Buzz Fleischman cultivates a lush garden in the backyard of his Miami Springs home.
Substation issue, downed line led to power outage - It passed but was never implemented. That means most neighborhoods that have underground power lines, or are beginning the retrofitting process, aren't equipped with the underwater technology.
Hurricane Irma was a game-changer for South Florida. Cities are preparing for hurricane season differently now. A lot of people think of it as the solution for keeping the power on. Listen to Parts 1 and 2 of the series on underground power lines. Buzz Fleischman cultivates a lush garden in the backyard of his Miami Springs home. Giant elephant ear leaves, tall grass and a Buddha statue provide a barrier from neighbors' homes. When Hurricane Irma hit the area as a weakening Category 2 storm, a 75-foot African tulip tree toppled in Fleischman's yard, knocking down a power line. Fleischman wanted to ensure that he wouldn't lose power again if another big storm like Irma came. So, in the process of building a pool, he had his power lines buried in his oasis of a yard Miami-Dade County can require homeowners building a pool to have underground power lines. Fleischman say he's hoping the investment lasts for the long-term. That led the region to rethink how it prepares for future storms. Utility folks even asked about undergrounding as a during a May hurricane preparedness workshop in Tallahassee. Last month, FPL launched a three-year pilot program to put more power lines underground in more neighborhoods. According to FPL, 40 percent of its lines are already under the ground. It turns out underground power lines are an answer — but not the only answer. Underground power lines are one of several techniques that help make the grid more storm-resilient. Others include managing trees near electrical infrastructure; replacing wooden poles with concrete or steel ones; and reinforcing utility poles with guy wires tensioned cables for more stability. FPL, which maintains a hybrid system of above-ground and underground lines, says it's planning to harden all the power lines along major thoroughfares by 2024. Not A Silver Bullet At the May PSC meeting, Olnick said underground power lines performed 80 percent better than overhead ones during Hurricane Irma — which means they were that much less likely to lose power. Irma was primarily a that reached max speeds of 120 miles per hour in the Keys and weakened to just-below hurricane-force conditions as it crossed the rest of South Florida. Buried lines were less likely to lose power because the primary cause of the overhead outages were falling branches and flying debris, according to Olnick. Credit Florida Power and Light If Irma had been a water storm, underground power lines would have faced other challenges, namely severe flooding and storm surge. Buried power lines are kept inside PVC pipes that are made to be watertight. But if water manages to enter the pipes, then the outages can take longer to remedy because accessing buried infrastructure takes more time. The pipes are sitting atop a bedrock of porous limestone. The ground material also varies with geography. Varela, the Miami Springs contractor, says he has hit sandy soil there while Coral Gables is known for its coral rock. According to Olnick, the company is using flood monitors at substations to keep track of existing water. In Downtown Miami, the company is experimenting with sub-aqueous power lines that can be submerged in water, according to FPL's Bryan Olnick. Despite these efforts, Olnick says this technology is still new and is only being used in a few, select places that are considered most vulnerable. That means most neighborhoods that have underground power lines, or are beginning the retrofitting process, aren't equipped with the underwater technology. Neighborhoods Taking Action Newer developments, such as in Miami-Dade County and Weston in Broward County, already planned for underground power lines during initial construction. Older neighborhoods, such as Oakland Park and Sunrise Key, for the most part, have above-ground lines. Palm Beach is in the middle of trying to put every single power line in the town — and all of the town's neighborhoods — underground. Contractors in Palm Beach who are working with FPL are in construction phases at the north and south ends of the barrier island, for traffic's sake. Undergrounding all of the lines started in July 2017, and will take seven to eight years to complete. The majority of power lines running through each of the Keys is still above the ground. Sunrise Key is an island. It's one of several neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale that have approached the city and FPL about the possibility of getting power lines put underground. The Costs Putting power lines underground may be more convenient than a generator, but it is also more expensive. It passed but was never implemented. After hurricanes, power companies typically ask the Public Service Commission to approve an extra fee to help pay for storm recovery. After Irma, FPL didn't filed the paperwork for that fee. The Dade County resolution is asking the commission to make putting power lines underground part of that storm cost recovery. And wiring is just part of that. A 2015 by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that sea-level rise aggravates storm surge, exposing more power substations to water. According to the study, 37 of 222 major substations where high-voltage power is lowered for safe distribution to neighborhoods in southeastern Florida are exposed to flooding from a major storm today. That number doubles by 2050 and triples by 2070 because sea-level rise has heightened the storm surge from a Category 3 hurricane. According to the , saltwater intrusion — saltwater seeping into groundwater — associated with sea-level rise can also damage underground wires. The study suggests shifting toward clean-energy technologies to make electrical infrastructure more resilient. They include solar and wind power, combined heat and power plants, and microgrids, which are self-contained, self-sustaining energy systems. Even that solution isn't a guarantee, she adds. Especially since sea-level rise will be making these challenges all the greater. If you've been contacted about putting more power lines in your neighborhood underground,. This story is in collaboration with the The Invading Sea, an editorial partnership among The Miami Herald, The Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post, with reporting from WLRN, on the growing threat of sea level rise to South Florida. You can find more coverage at. Hurricane season is fast approaching, which means summer is nearly here, as well. For South Florida, this signals increased attention on storm forecasts and applying lessons learned when it comes to evacuation and emergency plans, storm shutters and the possibility of losing power during the most sweltering time of the year. Last year, more than 700,000 homes had their power knocked out as Hurricane Irma arrived in South Florida. It hit the lower Keys as a Category 4 storm but slowed down to a Cat. With hurricane season fast approaching, Florida Power and Light is testing its systems — and more than 3,000 employees — to make sure they can get the lights back on quickly after a storm. All this week at the Riviera Beach command center, the company is drilling for a hypothetical storm with characteristics similar to Hurricane Wilma, which struck Florida in 2005.
Giant elephant ear leaves, tall grass and a Buddha statue provide a barrier from neighbors' homes. Eleven states keys energy power outage joined Florida in waiving weight and driver restrictions to move goods more quickly into the state, including fuel, the governor's office said. Fleischman wanted to ensure that he wouldn't lose power again if another big storm like Irma came. FPL has crews from as far away as Canada and California. They include solar and wind power, combined heat and power plants, and microgrids, which are self-contained, self-sustaining energy systems. You can find more coverage at. They removed trees and replaced several power poles before they could begin to reconnect power lines. Linemen had to rebuild the much of the electrical infrastructure along Summerlin Avenue.
