May 31 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Laura Figueroa The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

When Hurricane Wilma raked South Florida last year, the Category 3 hurricane toppled power poles and caused power outages over a vast area.

During weeks of power outages, gas pumps could not fuel lines of cars, traffic lights were out of order and hundreds of thousands living under the South Florida summer heat had to endure days without air conditioning.

Since Wilma, Florida Power and Light officials have developed a five-point storm-secure plan to minimize a hurricane's effect on the distribution of electricity.

A main component of the five-point plan is hardening up systems, including the poles used to carry electrical power lines.

"We're constantly inspecting them," said Don Sayre, spokesman for Florida Power and Light. "But because there are so many in our system, by the time you're done inspecting all the poles, it's time to come back and start over again. Still, we've shortened the amount of time between inspections to ensure we can pinpoint any problems."

The 1 million wooden power-line poles throughout the state are now inspected on an eight-year cycle, rather than a 15-year cycle as they were before, according to the FPL Web site.

Still, Sayre said that should a Category 5 hurricane hit the area, the poles most likely would not withstand the wind force.

"What you cannot calculate is flying debris," Sayer said. "The debris will add a lot of loading to the lines. Flying debris had a lot to do with taking down our lines in this past storm season."

With downed electric poles causing outages, many newly constructed subdivisions are opting to install underground power lines. Statewide, 37 percent of FPL customers receive their power from underground lines, Sayre said.

"In general it's strongly suggested that new builders go ahead with underground lines," said Robert Sweeny, with the Manatee County Planning Department. "For public safety it might be better to have them underground, but there's always exceptions, such as installing underground power lines in areas where there is a high water table."

Though installing underground power lines can be the solution to avoiding hurricane-force winds, Sayre said that doesn't solve all the problems.

In the event of hurricane-related flooding, those with underground power lines would lose their source of power until the water receded.

"If the transformers are under water, they cannot re-energize anything until that water subsided," Sayre said. "Along the coastal islands, overwash is also a problem. If saltwater goes over them we cannot re-energize until all the equipment has been cleaned."

Though the majority of older areas of Manatee County are serviced by power poles, Sayre said he does not foresee too many conversions from existing power poles to underground power lines in the future.

"In a new subdivision when there is nothing there, it's a lot more practical to lay down the lines," Sayre said. "When you're in an existing neighborhood, where there are houses, buildings, parking lots, pavement, you have to rip all of that up, dealing with a lot of surface restoration."

Laura Figueroa, Herald reporter, can be reached at 708-7906 or lfigueroa@HeraldToday.com [mailto:lfigueroa@HeraldToday.com].