Category 5 Hurricane Ian battered Florida for more than 72 hours and left more than 2 million residents without power. Florida Power & Light restored power to about two-thirds of residents within a day after the storm, and approximately 75% of those who could safely receive power had it restored within two days. 

FPL has produced a 41% increase in service since 2006 through technological improvements, such as underground power lines 

Since 2018, the company has focused on its Storm Secure Underground Program, which replaces the overhead power lines in neighborhoods with underground lines. More than 1,200 projects statewide have been completed over the last five years, with around 45% of FPL’s distribution now underground. Neighborhoods are chosen for this program through data analysis approved through the Florida Public Service Program that includes history of past outages from hurricanes and other vegetation-related causes, with ones more susceptible to outages being more likely to be picked. 

Since the Sept. 28 storm, FPL has strongly pushed this technology. In 2023, 59 SSUP projects are planned for Lee County, and seven are in the works for Collier County. These projects include Banyan Boulevard, which leads to Lowdermilk Park in Naples, and Crawford Street near City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, which were both completed. 

Each SSUP project undergoes a design and engineering phase that takes into account the characteristics of the neighborhood and its susceptibility to flooding. “Thanks to technology advances, there are very few instances in which we determine we can’t underground the project because of flooding concerns,” FPL spokesperson Conlan Kennedy said.  

FPL has been implementing underground power lines to about 90% of new neighborhoods before residents move in. However, just because an area has underground lines, doesn’t mean it won’t experience power outages.  

“I think it’s important to know that there’s no system that is fully hurricane proof or ever will be hurricane proof,” Kennedy said. “When a hurricane or a big storm strikes, there will be outages, and it’s really important for customers to prepare for that.”  

If damage occurs to customer-owned equipment, an inspection is needed by an electrician to ensure there is no fire hazard to the surrounding area if power is to be supplied. This is an obstacle that areas, such as Fort Myers Beach, are still faced with since the storm. Due to the many buildings that are still damaged, there are areas that are yet able to safely regain electricity.  

“We’ve been committed to helping [Fort Myers Beach] resume their normal life as soon as they are safely able to receive power,” Kennedy said. “We’ve done a lot of work near the beach; we’ve undergrounded equipment to help get businesses up and running. But we recognize that there’s still people who can’t safely receive power yet until there’s more building to be done.”  

The underground power lines program has no upfront cost to neighborhoods directly receiving the upgrade, as it is covered through all FPL customers’ plans. The cost comes out to less than $4 per month for all customers.  

“While every neighborhood won’t be undergrounded at the same time, all customers benefit from these efforts by not having to focus on an underground area after a storm [that] didn’t lose service,” Kennedy said. “Our crews can start restoring power to other areas faster.”  

By the end of the year, FPL plans to have placed 750 overhead power lines underground across the state.