JENSEN BEACH, Fla.-- Florida Power & Light crews were in Jensen Beach Thursday installing underground power lines in at-risk neighborhoods.
FPL hopes the improvements will help cut down on outages and improve performance in both “bad,” and “blue sky,” weather conditions.
It’s all part of a pilot program called Storm Secure Underground.
People living near where the changes are being made say the new lines are more than welcome. Jensen Beach resident Stefani Hughes is among them. “I think it’s exciting because we’ve had outages throughout our history of living here for 15 years.”
Hughes’s neighborhood has been on FPL’s radar of places more vulnerable to outages during severe weather.
“We’re looking for areas where they’ve had lots of outages due to vegetation," said FPL spokesperson Marie Bertot.
After Hurricane Irma two years ago, FPL found the number one cause of outages was debris blowing into trees and falling onto power lines. FPL’s solution? Go underground.
“Well it will prevent the outages because now we don’t have the vegetation it won’t be coming in contact with lines anymore,” says Bertot.
On the Treasure Coast, there are seven complete underground power line projects. There are also 23 more planned for next year.
.@FPL_Newsroom @insideFPL putting in underground lines in Jensen Beach neighborhood to improve system reliability. Will serve 87 customers in this area. Project will take 2-3 months, part of storm secure pilot program. @WPTV @FOX29WFLX pic.twitter.com/MD7RgLjCup
— Stephanie Susskind (@StephanieWPTV) November 7, 2019
