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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMiami Herald Articles.tif1" dgG 1 01 3 MiamiHerald.com News I Business 1 Sports I Entertainment l Tropical Life 1 City Guide I Shop Local 1 Classifieds [ Jobs I Cars I Homes Back to Miami Herald > Archives & Research Center Search Archives For Miami Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) El Nuevo Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) NewsLibrary.com (archived articles from hundreds of newspapers) Florida AND Power AND Light Show Most recent matches first Redeem Coupon December 18, 2005 Section: Business Edition: Final Page: 1E From all documents • Advanced Search • Help • Basic Search • FAQ Return to results Miami Herald, The (FL) • Pricing FPL WEIGHS STORM PLANS, BUDGETS JOHN DORSCHNER, jdorschner@herald.com In what one executive described as a "big shift," Florida Power & Light is reanalyzing its attitude toward underground lines and is increasing its tree -trimming budget by 20 percent. Two years of intense hurricane activity - and predictions of more to come - is causing the utility's leadership to re-examine its long -held beliefs. "We need to understand the new economics," said Geisha Williams, the FPL vice president who leads the storm restoration efforts, which have cost close to $2 billion the past two years. "Our real focus is this: We have met national electric safety standards, but is that enough? What is the right standard - and what is the cost of implementing that?" FPL has hired a Netherlands -based consulting firm, Kema, to examine everything from better ways to keep tree limbs away from power lines to the strength of the power lines themselves. The study will be led by a senior consultant, Richard Brown, who has published more than 60 technical papers on electrical system reliability and asset management. 1V11CL1111 1.1V1 CULL. LVI. LL111V11L V 1L+VV rage G OI The Kema analysis, based on FPL forensic teams gathering information from 1,700 sites, is due by the end of January. In the meantime, here's some of what FPL is thinking: * Underground: For the first time, FPL is analyzing whether it should volunteer to pay some of the costs of burying lines. In the past, it has had a hard stance: It will bury only as long as homeowners paid for it. The company still acknowledges that going underground is hugely expensive: perhaps $55 billion to $80 billion to bury in communities that now have overhead lines, and that doesn't make economic sense in ordinary times. "But in a world where you have multiple hurricanes every year, does that change the equation?" Williams asked. Western neighborhoods with underground lines did well during Wilma, a relatively dry hurricane. Most homes in Weston never lost power or saw lights come back on in minutes. "We love underground," FPL President Armando Olivera said during one post - Wilma teleconference. But what places should be underground? Some affluent towns - Jupiter Island and Palm Beach - are asking about the cost of underground, Williams said. These towns could afford it, but they might not be right for underground because they're near the coast. Coastal areas tend to flood, causing troubles for underground lines. Last year, when Ivan hit the Panhandle, the coastal areas with buried lines were the last to come back, Williams said. One nettling question: If affluent communities lead the push to underground, wouldn't that mean that the poor would be more likely to be sitting in the dark after storms? * Tree -trimming: Though FPL in the past has defended its tree -trimming practices, it's increasing the budget for next year from $40 million to $48 million. Executives are also questioning their decision last year to downplay customers' requests for trimming trees in favor of trimming each area every three years. "We need to rethink that policy," said Williams. They're also changing their policy about homeowners who refuse to allow FPL-contracted workers on their property to trim trees, though the utility has the right to get to its easement. "We have been historically hesitant to enforce" that, said Williams. "We're going to be more aggressive." Still, communities and residents need to do their part in not planting big trees near power lines. "It's a shared responsibility." * Overhead lines: Even if there's a strong move to underground, it might take 25 to 30 years to convert. Bottom line: "We will have overhead for a very long time." FPL engineers are looking at ways to toughen up poles and lines. One possibility is being more aggressive in using triplex, three -wire strands woven together and protected by an outer coating. "We love triplex," said Williams, but the question is how quickly to use it to replace bare wire. The company is also looking at the configuration of wires on poles - sometimes they're strung on a crossbar on top, sometimes one line above the other. They're also wondering whether the pole -sharing arrangements with BellSouth make for a weakened system, and whether adding lines to FPL poles - phone or cable - puts too much of a burden on them. * Substations: During Wilma, 241 substations went down. Shortly after the storm, 1Yll1L111111V1CLI.J. .L.,,,/,1 -4111,11l V 1V V rage 3 01 3 executives said the main problem was flying debris, perhaps leftover from Katrina, but it later developed a theory that many went down because the transmission lines leading into them lost power. Other problems: The gates on the chain -link faces surrounding many substations had a tendency to fly off and often ended up damaging equipment. The roofs of the small concrete houses in the substations also showed signs of weakness and need to be strengthened, Williams said. While FPL does its rethinking, plenty of others are, too. The Public Service Commission is planning a workshop in January about whether to "harden the infrastructure," and the Legislature, too, may hold hearings. NEW STRATEGY? After two years of being hammered by hurricanes, Florida Power & Light is contemplating changes, including: * Paying part of the cost of undergrounding older neighborhoods * Increasing its tree -trimming budget by 20 percent * Paying more attention to customers asking for trees to be trimmed * Studying poles and the lines placed on them * Reinforcing parts of substations Copyright (c) 2005 The Miami Herald 1V11(11111 11,1[LIU. LVI+Ullll+lll, V I, VV rage 1 of i MiamiHerald.com News I Business I Sports I Entertainment 1 Tropical Life City Guide I Shop Local I Classifieds 1 Jobs I Cars I Homes Back to Miami Herald > Archives & Research Center Search Archives Miami Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) El Nuevo Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) NewsLibrary.com (archived articles from hundreds of newspapers) For Florida AND Power AND Light Show Most recent matches first From all documents Redeem Coupon December 18, 2005 Section: Neighbors Edition: Final Page: 3GS • Advanced Search • Help • Pncing • Basic Search • FAQ Return to results Miami Herald, The (FL) BURYING POWER LINES A POSSIBILITY ELAINE DE VALLE, edevalle@herald.com More than 150 Coral Gables residents turned up at a town hall meeting last week to discuss the city's preparations for - and response to - this season's spat of hurricanes. A great part of the talk was about the delay in getting power restored to Gables homes, which went as long as two weeks without electricity. And one thing became obviously clear: A great majority of those who attended are willing.to spend $10,000 to get their power lines buried. After that dollar figure was tossed out, the hypothetical question was posed by State Rep. Julio Robaina, R -South Miami, who has been on the front lines of the issue: "By a show of hands, how many people would be in favor of undergrounding lines in the Gables?" Nearly every hand shot up. "Ninety percent of the problems we had in this state [after Wilma] came as a result of having no power," Robaina said, citing closed gas stations and grocery stores. "There would have been clean up to do, sure, but life would have gone on if power was there." The city of Weston, he said, has underground lines and never lost power. 1Y11Q111111,10.1U. LVVU111V11L V 1, VV rageL01J Jeffrey Bartel, vice president of external affairs for Florida Power & Light, said it was an expensive proposition and that even with underground lines, power can still be lost if a storm causes flooding rather than wind damage. "The cost is enormous," said Bartel, a Mindello Street resident who didn't have power himself for 11 days. For Coral Gables, he said, the citywide estimate was between $150 and $200 million. That translated, Bartel added, to roughly $10,000 per customer. A Mariana Avenue man suggested a general bond to fund it or spreading the cost out over several years. But Robaina - who knows something about utilities as a former tech for BellSouth - said there could also be Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to help: "There's a FEMA program that will pay up to 75 percent of the costs. They figure it's better to be preventative than to come here and spend $100 million on water and ice." He said utilities could share some of the costs by sharing the underground infrastructure, and that the state could also look for money to contribute to the effort. "I'm not telling you it's the entire solution. But we can't stay status quo. We must have some changes," Robaina said. Bartel said the power company would be happy if everyone went underground. "We want to encourage cities to go underground. But it will take years. It will not happen by June 2006. It will not happen by June 2007," he said, using the beginning of hurricane season to make his point. In fact, it would likely take from five to 15 years, Bartel said. Meanwhile, he added, the power company, the city and residents have to work together to better manage vegetation so that doesn't get in the way of lines. But Enrique Lopez, who showed up with a thick binder full of research and photos he had taken of old equipment and leaning poles, said that shouldn't be too hard. "Today we have no trees, so there is limited vegetation to be managed," Lopez said sarcastically. He added that the state's Public Service Commission has found FPL is not complying with rules because the company does not have a procedure for pole inspection. He said the southeast corner of his home had a new pole - next to an old pole that had never been disengaged. And he had dozens of other examples throughout the city. Other complaints included: * Nonstorm related outages. "My power went out two nights ago. There was no hurricane," said John Madril, who says he often has two to three outages a week. "We are working to help people who have frequent or long outages," Bartel said, acknowledging there were pockets that had intermittent problems but insisting things have gotten better, not worse. "Our reliability in Coral Gables in the last 10 years has improved," Bartel said. 1,11.1111 llVl.l%J. LVl+U111V111 V 1, ,Y 1 a6'G J 01 .7 * Faulty or inadequate equipment, like lines that aren't insulated, and the inability to communicate with FPL. "At about Day 11 I was about tired of hearing the same recording at FPL," said Joe Brickell, a dentist and Sienna Avenue resident who said he kept getting the runaround from call takers at the power company. "I would prefer that they tell me, 'You got eight people on your line. You need to get a tent.' " He also said that when a crew finally arrived on Day 13, they needed to wait two hours for a second crew to show up. Bartel acknowledged the problem. "We're looking at how we can step up communications," he said. Copyright (c) 2005 The Miami Herald 1V11a1111 1 11/4 1 0.111. .. U111 .A1L V 11/4, VV rage 1 Ot 2 MiamiHerald.co News I Business I Sports I Entertainment I Tropical Life I City Guide I Shop Local I Classifieds I Jobs I Cars I Homes Back to Miami Herald > Archives & Research Center Search Archives Miami Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) El Nuevo Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) NewsLibrary.com (archived articles from hundreds of newspapers) For Florida AND Power AND Light Show Most recent matches first From all documents Redeem Coupon December 22, 2005 Section: Business Edition: Final Page: 1C • Advanced Search • Help • Basic Search • FAQ Return to results Miami Herald, The (FL) azo • Pricing CITIES PUSH FOR BETTER POWER JOHN DORSCHNER, jdorschner@MiamiHerald.com In another indication of how much voters and politicians are concerned about Florida Power & Light's performance, Gov. Jeb Bush sat down with the Coral Gables City Commission Wednesday to discuss how the electrical system can be strengthened to better withstand hurricanes. Coral Gables politicians aren't alone. In Hollywood, an agency is investing $8 million in burying power lines near the beach, and Hollywood's city commission may force some homeowners to pay for connecting to underground lines if they're installed in their neighborhoods. Palm Beach also is considering "hardening" its electrical infrastructure and may bury some lines. Bush told Gables commissioners "there is no simple answer." While underground lines may help in some areas, they may not do well in shoreline neighborhoods prone to flooding - a sentiment echoed by FPL executives. The governor said the key question for policymakers is what was behind the huge failure that knocked out 98 percent of customers during Wilma. "How much was a lack of maintenance and how much was due to the winds?" "We don't want to go to war with anyone," Coral Gables Mayor Donald Slesnick told v V VV Llvl aly LVl, ullll,ll 1. Ll,ll V VI rage 1 OIL MiamiHerald.co News 1 Business 1 Sports 1 Entertainment 1 Living 1 City Guide { Shopping 1 Jobs 1 Cars 1 Homes Archives Article Search Results (Articles older than 7 days) Archive Advanced Search 1 Archive Search Search Articles -last 7 days for Florida Power and Light Go Note: Searching is always free. There is a $2.95 fee to view the full -text of any article. Check out our Pricing Options. Miami Herald, The (FL) December 25, 2005 Section: Neighbors Edition: Final Page: 3GS GOV. BUSH CALLS FOR POWER LINE TASK FORCE JASMINE KRIPALANI, For The Miami Herald Gov. Jeb Bush wants a Coral Gables task force on the city's utility and power infrastructure to present its findings by March 1 - so that state lawmakers can review recommendations for this spring's legislative session in Tallahassee. Bush, a Coral Gables resident whose home lost power for nine days after Hurricane Wilma, met with the Coral Gables City Commission Wednesday for an hour about Florida Power & Light's delays restoring power after the October storm. Bush told Coral Gables city leaders that the state "might" consider helping the city pay to install power lines underground or offer residents tax credits for doing so. Burying power lines has been a big topic in the City Beautiful. The estimated cost: $200 million, or about $10,000 per customer, according to FP&L. Mayor Don Slesnick said it could take as long as 20 years to replace all lines throughout the city. At a Dec. 13 town hall meeting on hurricane recovery, a majority of those who attended raised their hands, saying they'd be willing to foot the bill. "A decision could be made in the coming year," said Slesnick, who also chairs a Miami -Dade League of Cities mayoral committee that will address power restoration issues. One possibility, Slesnick said, is to bury underground lines in some portions of the city as "test cases." Slesnick acknowledged that putting lines underground "is not infallible" and FPL has said that buried cables are vulnerable during flooding and heavy winds which topple trees that uproot cables. The meeting at City Hall was open to the public, as required by law. But because it was considered a workshop, the public wasn't allowed to speak. 1 a6'G 1 V1 3 MiamiHerald.com News 1 Business 1 Sports 1 Entertainment 1 Tropical Life l City Guide 1 Shop Local 1 Classifieds 1 Jobs l Cars 1 Homes Back to Miami Herald > Archives & Research Center Search Archives Miami Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) El Nuevo Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) NewsLibrary.com (archived articles from hundreds of newspapers) For Florida AND Power AND Light Show Most recent matches first From all documents Redeem Coupon • Advanced Search • Help • Pricing • Basic Search • FAQ Return to results Miami Herald, The (FL) January 6, 2006 Section: Broward & State Edition: Broward Page: 1B JEB: BIG BUCKS TO STORMPROOF GARY FINEOUT, gfineout@MiamiHerald.com After watching the state endure devastating hurricanes over the past two years, Gov. Jeb Bush wants to spend $565 million in the coming year to help the state prepare and withstand the next round of deadly storms. Bush, who came under criticism for the delayed response efforts during Hurricane Wilma in October, wants to use the money on everything from helping shore up homes built before stronger building codes, buying generators for special -needs shelters to expanding the state's hurricane sales tax holiday. "Hurricanes are a fact of life in Florida and every Floridian needs to have a plan for hurricane season," said Bush, who will announce his funding proposal today in Orlando. "Our ability to respond and recover from a hurricane is critical to our economy and quality of life." The total cost of Bush's proposals, which will go before the Florida Legislature this spring, is $565 million. The majority of money Bush wants will go to housing programs, including $25 million for one to help farmworkers and the disabled, and $177 million to build and repair rental housing. Bush said he was convinced that many homes damaged by Hurricane Wilma could have 1agQ 01J withstood the storm if they had stronger roofs or hurricane shutters. "It was just tragic," said Bush. "More homes were uninhabitable in Wilma than the 2004 storms. It's because it's a mature area. You don't have row after row of new housing developments. In order to get to the place where we can recover very quickly no matter what hits us we've got to deal with existing housing." The funding for Bush's proposals would come from a combination of federal relief money as well as revenue from the state's red-hot real estate market. Also included on the list of spending items will be $42 million for another hurricane sales tax holiday; Bush proposes to allow residents to buy up to $300 worth of lumber and a $1,000 generator without paying sales taxes. The governor also wants $5.3 million for a public relations campaign to urge Floridians to better prepare for storms, $50 million to improve existing homes and $16.7 million to expand existing shelters and to create a new regional shelter that could serve an entire geographic area. Other spending items include nearly $70 million to upgrade and improve emergency operations centers across the state, as well as $2 million for a University of Miami training lab for first responders. Another of the key recommendations will be to spend $29 million on technology, studies and other tools to better predict what areas will be severely affected by storm surge and what areas need to be evacuated. State officials, for example, were surprised by flooding in the Panhandle caused by Hurricane Dennis. "The better data we have to make decisions means the fewer people we have to move out of harm's way," said Craig Fugate, the state's emergency management director. Bush acknowledged that his proposals don't address some key areas, including keeping gasoline flowing for generators and ensuring that electric power is restored quickly. He said he wants more information about whether massive power outages in South Florida were caused by hurricane winds or because electric utilities did not properly maintain their poles. He said Thursday that he wants to discuss with Florida Power & Light and other companies whether they can prioritize getting power restored to gas stations that are along major roads. KEY POINTS OF PROPOSED HURRICANE PLAN Highlights of Gov. Bush's budget plan for hurricane preparedness: General public: * $5.3 million: Public education campaign to build a "culture of preparedness" * $42 million: Sales tax holiday for hurricane preparation and supplies * $50 million: Assisting homeowners in retrofitting their homes Shelters: