TALLAHASSEE - After eight hurricanes hammered the state in the past two years, power experts told state regulators Monday that perhaps electric companies should be required to build a system that can withstand more than the present standard of 60 mph winds -- which isn't even enough to survive a minimum hurricane.
Testifying at a workshop of the Public Service Commission, the experts suggested many ways the system could be hardened -- by making tougher poles, spending more on trimming trees near poles and perhaps putting more lines underground.
At present, state utilities are required to only build to the standard set by the National Electrical Safety Code of 60 mph, which is far below the standard of withstanding gusts of 146 mph, which is required for most construction in much of South Florida.
Richard Brown, a consultant hired by Florida Power & Light to assess its damage after Wilma, told PSC staffers that the discrepancy between the power grid standard and the building standard was the largest in the nation.
That difference outraged Larry Levine, a vice president of BrandsMart USA, based in Hollywood. As he told a committee of the Florida House ON Tuesday, ''If I build a house in Broward County or Dade County or in South Florida, my house is required to withstand 150 mph winds. If FPL puts up a power pole'' the standard drops to 60.
''I want to know from everybody here, why? Just real simple: Why? Why don't they have to build to the same standard I have to build? Why?'' he asked.
That's what many people are asking.
''Change is overdue. Decisions are overdue,'' said Commissioner Isilio Arriaga. ``Major change is on the way.''
The PSC staff pressed representatives from the major utilities -- including FPL, Progress Energy and Tampa Electric -- to give them firm recommendations within a week, so they could forward them to commissioners.
When several utility executives said they were still forming replies and didn't know when they would be done, PSC staffer Connie Kummer said those were ``unacceptable answers.''
Brown, who works for the huge Dutch consulting firm KEMA, said much of FPL's pole grid was built much tougher than the national standard and could withstand winds of 104 mph, but the question was whether that was enough.
The higher the standard, of course, the greater the expense. Brown estimated hardening the overhead system would cost two to four times what is presently being spent. Switching to underground lines would increase costs five to 10 times more.
Because going to underground might take a decade or two for widespread areas, Brown suggested the present pole system might need to be made stronger, perhaps with guy wires supporting poles or more poles per mile of line.
David McDonald of Progress Energy, the state's second-largest electric utility, suggested the PSC might consider recommending a move from wooden poles to steel or concrete, putting lines underground in ''targeted'' areas and increasing the use of tree-trimming. He said Progress Energy found that fallen trees and branches were a major cause of outages during the 2004 storms.
But when pressed, McDonald said he didn't have a timetable for firming up his company's recommendations. ''This is a path we have to embark on together,'' he told the PSC staff.
PSC staffer Bob Trapp said he'd like to see recommendations within a week. Speaking for FPL, Michael Spoor responded, ``We'll certainly be as far [along] as we can.''
Meanwhile, at the Capitol, legislators were getting an earful from angry power customers. Levine of BrandsMart said he didn't expect anything from the PSC, which he called ''lapdogs'' of the monopoly FPL.
State Rep. Julio Robaina, R-South Miami, accused FPL of maintaining a system on the cheap and of making misleading statements about the efficacy of burying power lines. Specifically, Robaina said, FPL spokesmen have suggested that burying the lines won't prevent outages to the extent people think and will be extremely costly.
But Robaina said the company is erecting poles after each storm, only to watch them ``come right back down the following year. And we're billing people.''
''Here's what my constituents -- I think everybody's constituents, are saying -- Power companies, do it right the first time,'' Robaina said. ``This is all about who is going to pay. It's all about money.''
Estimated cost: $55 billion to $80 billion to bury about 60,000 miles of distribution lines, according to FPL Vice President Geisha Williams. Average cost for each of FPL's 4.3 million customers: $12,790 to $18,604. She said that was a rough estimate, but that the cost would be so high because of the difficulty of digging up existing roadways and working around homes, pools and trees in urban areas.
Williams said FPL maintains about 40,000 miles of buried distribution lines now.
''We like underground. We think underground is great,'' she said. ``It does come with an enormous price tag. It is not a panacea. There will be outages regardless. There's no such thing as hurricane-proof.''
The biggest threat to underground lines -- flooding from hurricane-related storm surges.
Robaina wasn't buying it. ''You have underground cables that go underneath the ocean, that live in saltwater,'' he said.
At the PSC workshop, city officials made their voice heard.
Dania Beach Mayor Anne Castro told staff that FPL has so far not responded to a proposal from her town to have city police and city public works employees notify the company when they see a potential problem with their poles or utility lines. Some in the town have questioned whether the utility properly maintains its existing system.
Jupiter Island Town Commissioner Charles Falcone urged state regulators to force utilities to work with cities that want to bury their power lines underground. Falcone said initial estimates from FPL several years ago were twice as high as they are now. He also questioned why no one has seriously studied the reliability of underground lines versus overhead power lines in Florida.
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