FPL tuning up Fort Myers electrical grid

COURTESY PHOTO As part of its year-round reliability program, Florida Power & Light Company is ramping up efforts to inspect and strengthen its electric grid in the City of Fort Myers.

This work, part of a system-wide program, is aimed at improving electric service reliability during storm and non-storm conditions. By year-end, the company expects to complete inspecting and reinforcing electric facilities serving more than 53,500 customers in the city.

"We're committed to providing our customers with reliable service every day. The preventative maintenance measures we are taking today will allow for a stronger system tomorrow," said Al Alfonso, vice president for distribution for FPL.

FPL already has reinforced electrical equipment and poles for facilities providing vital emergency services in Fort Myers, including Lee Memorial Hospital. Other important facilities located outside the city limits but within the area also were strengthened including Naples Community Hospital.

The company is aggressively inspecting poles and clearing lines throughout the city. Moreover, line-clearing efforts along more than 200 miles of power lines will minimize the potential for outages to approximately 38,000 customers in the city.

As part of FPL's comprehensive maintenance program, the company also uses two innovative technologies to minimize outages: thermovision and automated feeder switches. Thermovision is a technology that detects potentially faulty equipment through an infrared inspection of overhead power lines. This allows crews to replace equipment before it causes a power interruption.

This year FPL will also inspect about 12 main power lines in the city, strengthening the delivery of service to over 13,000 customers.

The automated feeder switches sense when a line loses power, isolating the problem and rerouting power within seconds. This technology helps customers by reducing the number of service interruptions and shortening these interruptions when they occur.

"All these efforts combined not only allow us to identify conditions in need of corrective steps at an early stage, but also reduce, and sometimes even avoid outages from ever happening," said Alfonso.

FPL's year-round maintenance programs include regular pole inspections, as well as replacement or reinforcement of poles, as needed. In addition, FPL crews trim trees to keep branches from damaging power lines and inspect transmission lines and structures. FPL also conducts collaborative research with specialized organizations on hurricane winds and storm surge to analyze potential damage to the electric system.