Originally Posted By: Notes Norton
Not too long ago, FPL buzzed the lines with a drone, and sent out tree trimming contractors to trim the limbs that might take the power lines down during a storm. The crew that trimmed the trees on my lot were friendly courteous, professional, and they trimmed the problem branches without butchering the trees.

I've also noticed a lot of wood poles along the Indian River Lagoon being replaced with concrete poles. I'm sure the concrete poles stand up to the wind better.

It seems the hard work and care paid off. We didn't even lose power in this storm, although we didn't get the most intense winds either.

I know when those meters aren't spinning, you aren't making any money, and we are spending money feeding a gas generator, so it was a win-win endeavor.

"Thank you", to FPL for your foresight.

Notes ♫


We call the concrete poles the 200 MPH poles. They are rated to over 150 but testing and analysis shows they can go much higher. All the power that could be restored was done in 7 days to FPL customers. The only people that couldn't restore are the homes and businesses that had damage such that they could not safely bring power back to them. It will take home repair and inspections before they can be restored. It was over 99% complete though. A real testament to the hardening that has happened over the last 10 years or so to the whole FPL system.

Underground utilities are great, but as I mentioned earlier, the distribution system still has to be overground for the large switchyards etc.

My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.