Florida Power & Light workers are busy replacing overhead power lines in Port Charlotte in a program designed to make Southwest Florida’s power grid more resilient.
Crews worked on Silver Springs Terrace Northwest, near the Murdock substation, on Jan. 29, placing the neighborhood’s power lines underground. The crews used a low-impact direction bore that “minimizes disruption to customer properties when bringing power lines underground,” explained Troy Todd, lead project manager for FPL’s West Storm Secure Underground Program, or SSUP.
During hurricanes Helene, Debby and Milton in 2024, underground power lines in Charlotte County performed five to 14 times better than existing neighborhood power lines, Todd said. He added that they performed six times better during Hurricane Ian in 2022 and 12 times better during Hurricane Idalia in 2023.
FPL’s conversions are ongoing, as the company is in the process of undergrounding neighborhood power lines serving some 2,600 customers in Port Charlotte. The current installations are part of an approximate 58-mile total project slated for completion by the end of the year.
Through the SSUP program, FPL has undergrounded 247 overhead neighborhood power lines, serving nearly 10,000 customers in Charlotte County since 2021.
Todd explained the decision to choose neighborhoods receiving underground power lines is based on a collection of data that identifies areas impacted from past hurricanes, outages from vegetation and other metrics.
One of the leading causes of power outages is vegetation growth, a reason why neighborhoods often see FPL workers trimming away tree branches.
“While no energy grid can be 100% stormproof, underground lines like those being brought to Port Charlotte neighborhoods perform significantly better than overhead lines, helping to reduce outage times and speed restoration following severe weather,” FPL officials said.
If a municipality chooses for FPL to place its power lines underground but is not included in the SSUP program, it would have to pay for a portion of the work, Todd said. There is no charge to municipalities and areas chosen by FPL for inclusion in the program.
Currently, Punta Gorda is not part of the SSUP program, although areas of the city’s power lines have been hardened in recent years.
In Punta Gorda and throughout Charlotte County, several wooden utility poles were replaced with concrete and poles. This is part of another FPL program that is hardening overhead utility poles, feeder lines, transformers and substations at no charge to the city or county, although FPL customers have seen an increase in their bills for the Storm Protection Plan.
A typical 1,000-kilowatt residential bill reflects an $8 charge for the plan’s services that include undergrounding power lines, Vegetation Management Program and hardening and strengthening utility poles with concrete and steel.
Some areas of low elevation and prone to heavy flooding might not be candidates for underground power lines, which is why FPL has been hardening utilities above ground in those areas. For instance, transformers have been built taller and placed on pads in flood-prone areas.
