Hurricanes'
flying debris sure to cause outages
Oct 31, 2005 - St. Petersburg Times, Fla.
Author(s): Louis Hau
Oct. 31--After getting hit by its seventh hurricane in a little more
than a year, Florida Power & Light is facing an inevitable question from
customers weary of repeated power outages: Is there anything more the
utility can do to minimize the impact of severe storms on its electric
system?
Part of the answer appeared to come in July with the release of a
Florida Public Service Commission report that questioned the sufficiency
of the Juno Beach company's efforts to trim tree branches near power
lines. The PSC also raised concerns about the adequacy of FPL's
inspections of utility poles.
Even if these efforts had satisfied regulators, such measures
wouldn't have prevented power outages during Wilma, when much of the
worst damage was inflicted on the company's 469 substations, of which
241 were knocked out by the storm.
During a conference call last week with the media, FPL president
Armando Olivera said the company's transmission lines and substations
are built to withstand hurricane-force winds. However, he quickly added
that they aren't able to take the impact of flying debris, the main
factor behind the high number of substations damaged by Wilma.
Olivera stressed there is "no magic bullet" available that will fully
protect an electric system from every hurricane-related hazard.
What about placing power lines underground? FPL electrical
distribution vice president Geisha Williams said that would be
prohibitively expensive.
Johnson estimated that change would cost about $55-billion to $80-
billion. "It's just mind-boggling to consider how much it would cost,"
she said.
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