Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) recently announced it is working to upgrade the electric system in the Kendall area to benefit local homes and businesses.
The work includes strengthening main power lines and equipment in the area, clearing vegetation from local power lines and installing advanced smart grid technology, as part of its ongoing efforts to deliver reliable electric service year-round.
“We understand how much our customers depend on electricity. That’s why we’re working aggressively to upgrade the electric system in Kendall,” said Javier Carcache, FPL area manager. “These improvements will help us build a stronger and smarter electric grid, to provide customers electricity they can count on in good weather and bad.”
After performing a thorough inspection of local power lines and equipment, FPL started work on a number of projects in and near Kendall. The work is designed to improve the quality of customers’ electric service by preventing outages and helping FPL restore power faster if outages occur.
Service improvement projects in the Kendall area in 2015 include:
• Strengthening nine main power lines to better withstand severe weather — including wind gusts up to 145 mph — and deliver reliable electric service year-round;
• Clearing more than 80 miles of power lines of trees, branches and palm fronds — a major cause of power outages, and
• Installing advanced smart grid technology, including six automated switches to help prevent outages and get customers’ lights on faster if outages occur.
The main lines being strengthened serve neighborhoods located east and west of Florida’s Turnpike, between SW 42nd Street and SW 184th Street. The construction schedule for each project varies, with some of the work already finished and the remainder slated for completion in 2016.
When the work outlined previously is completed, FPL will have made the following improvements in and near Kendall since the last major hurricanes hit Florida in 2005:
• Reinforced 25 main power lines, including those serving critical local facilities such as the Miami-Dade Police Department Kendall and Hammocks District stations, Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue stations including Turnpike South (Station 53), Richmond (Station 43) and West Sunset (Station 56), and community thoroughfares on SW 42nd Street, SW 88th Street, SW 137th Avenue and Burr Road;
• Inspected all utility poles in Kendall — nearly 3,000 — restoring or replacing those that no longer meet the company’s standards for strength, and
• Cleared more than 800 miles of power lines of trees and vegetation — a major cause of power outages.
Since 2006, FPL has invested more than $2 billion to strengthen its system and its customers are seeing the benefits. FPL has improved service reliability by approximately 20 percent in the last five years and was on track to achieve its best-ever performance record in 2015.
Additional information, including a map of the work areas is available online at FPL.com/Kendall.
