FPL installs underground power lines in Charlotte County

Reporter: Camila Pereira Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:

Needless to say, losing power during a storm is frustrating, and now, the mission to bury power lines to prevent outages is full speed ahead.

Florida Power and Light has been replacing the overhead lines with underground ones in Charlotte County.

Crews are starting in Port Charlotte on Silver Springs Terrace Northwest, near Meadow Park Elementary, west of U.S. 41.

According to FPL, the underground powerlines that will be installed in that neighborhood on Wednesday perform significantly better than the overhead powerlines, not only during hurricanes but overall.

FPL found these lines worked six times better during Hurricane Ian in 2022,
and twelve times better during Hurricane Idalia in 2023.

The installation of underground powerlines is part of FPL’s storm secure powerline program, an initiative that hopes to help prevent powerline damage and power outages as much as possible.

WINK News spoke with the senior project manager last year, as they installed these underground power lines in another Charlotte County neighborhood, about what exactly makes them so much more successful.

“Our power lines are good for at least 20 years or more. They are water resistant, so any type of water intrusion can decrease the amount of outages that those transformers occur,” said Mackenzie Herron, spokesperson for FPL.

This program isn’t new. FPL has installed hundreds of underground powerlines in neighborhoods statewide.

But while efficient, this plan comes at a price. Last year, the average person paid less than $6 a month for it.

Later Wednesday morning, WINK News will show you how crews installed the power lines so you can further understand why they work so well, especially during severe weather.

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