Gulf Power Explores Ways To Move Power Lines Underground To Enhance Reliability

October 25, 2021

Gulf Power is exploring ways to move power lines underground to enhance reliability, especially during storms.

The Storm Secure Underground Pilot Program is designed to help find cost effective ways to replace overhead neighborhood power lines with more reliable underground lines.

In a first of its kind project for Gulf Power, the company recently demonstrated how it is replacing overhead power lines with more reliable underground lines in the Myrtle Grove community.

While the program is new for Gulf Power, it has been used by their parent company Florida Power & Light on more than 300 neighborhood projects in FPL’s service territory.  Gulf Power is leveraging FPL’s expertise to improve service to customers in Northwest Florida.

Trees and vegetation blowing into overhead power lines are a leading cause of service interruptions, particularly during hurricanes and severe weather. Putting power lines underground improves reliability during good weather and bad. Neighborhoods are chosen for the program based on data, including a history of vegetation-related outages and other reliability issues.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

14 Responses to “Gulf Power Explores Ways To Move Power Lines Underground To Enhance Reliability”

  1. Jill on October 29th, 2021 9:01 am

    It’s about time!

  2. Jeff on October 28th, 2021 9:58 am

    This is logical progress, look at the poor folks affected by IDA. Even 50 miles inland out of power for a month. The power company is regulated it can only raise rates with approval, it will raise rates some but $10 a month is better then your own 40k solar and battery alternative

  3. William 2 on October 26th, 2021 11:02 am

    @FreeLunch since when has any power company NOT passed on cost to customers? You’re dreaming, if you really believe what you are saying

  4. Free lunch! on October 25th, 2021 8:15 pm

    Yes of course they will do all of this with the funds they already collect and it won’t cost us any extra.

  5. Susie on October 25th, 2021 7:13 pm

    Nice to hear and long overdue. Maybe Gulf Power could shove some French drains in there and solve the flooding problems too. Ha!

  6. Kane on October 25th, 2021 11:03 am

    Or we can all just switch to tesla coils and do away with silly wires and poles for good.

  7. Hmmm on October 25th, 2021 10:36 am

    Gotta hate it when those 10′ storm surges bury North Escambia under a sand dune.

  8. Inmolino on October 25th, 2021 10:15 am

    Underground power lines is the way to go. But don’t think the power company is going to do all this work and not pass the bill to the customer. They will be all to happy to send us the bill and pocket any savings for less maintenance, tree trimming and hurricane repair.

  9. William 2 on October 25th, 2021 8:32 am

    It’s about time, they should have done this 60yrs ago. It makes no sense to have above ground power lines in Florida or anywhere really, but I do feel for all the linemen that will loose their jobs after years of dedication, unless they are retrained of course.

  10. pat on October 25th, 2021 8:25 am

    Bad idea. The sandy soil and our rainy seasons means the cables will shift and move causing them to break more often. Additionally the constant exposure to salty water will cause corrosion.
    When doing storm recovery its alot easier to see damaged lines when they are dangling instead of spending months digging to find the ends of a broken cable when a 10 ft storm surge has moved and burried it under a new sand dune or fett of mud.

  11. Robert on October 25th, 2021 6:50 am

    Duh

  12. brianh on October 25th, 2021 4:34 am

    Erin, Opal, Ivan and Sally weren’t enough to make them look at this?

  13. Kat on October 25th, 2021 3:30 am

    Is this something that the customers will have to pay for like we are doing for the solar farm?? Between reimbursing gulf power or really FP&L for the damages from storms and then the solar farms, and everything else… and oh, the scholarships that are given out after being told we have to pay more because of it costing more to produce, and the repayment that the people that paid their bills during covid are now having to pay back from the ones that didn’t pay etc… it all sucks… this better be coming out of their pockets and not ours

  14. EMD on October 25th, 2021 12:52 am

    I have always wondered why we have above ground lines in hurricane territory. I hope we get them everywhere in Florida.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News