Florida Power & Light Enhances Energy Grid with Planned Upgrades in Palm Bay and Melbourne

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – FPL is installing storm-hardened power poles in East Central Florida, built to withstand extreme wind loads and reduce outage times following severe weather.

How we’re upgrading your neighborhood: FPL plans to make the following upgrades throughout 2024 in Palm Bay as part of its ongoing commitment to avoid outages and restore power faster following severe weather: 

■ Planning 103 Storm Secure Underground Program (SSUP) projects to replace overhead neighborhood power lines with more reliable underground lines. 

■ Maintaining trees and vegetation – a common cause of power outages, particularly during hurricanes and extreme weather – along 404 miles of power lines.

■ Inspecting 5,789 power poles in Palm Bay as part of an eight-year inspection cycle, strengthening or replacing those that no longer meet FPL’s industry-leading standards.  

How we’re upgrading your neighborhood: FPL plans to make the following upgrades throughout 2024 in Melbourne as part of its ongoing commitment to avoid outages and restore power faster following severe weather: 

■ Maintaining trees and vegetation – a common cause of power outages, particularly during hurricanes and extreme weather – along 307 miles of power lines.

■ Inspecting 2,995 poles in Melbourne as part of an eight-year inspection cycle, strengthening or replacing those that no longer meet FPL’s industry-leading standards.  

FPL continuously leverages new and innovative technologies to improve reliability for its customers and is implementing the following innovations this year:

■ Piloting the installation of automated underground switches which will help detect and isolate outages, further enhancing reliability of underground lines.

■ Using “smart trimming” technology to identify and trim a leading cause of power outages: trees and other vegetation contacting power lines. Smart trimming also helps the company identify areas of concern and assign the work electronically, saving inspection time.

Cumulative improvements in the Palm Bay area: When the planned 2024 work is completed, FPL will have made the following improvements since 2006:  

■ Completed 324 SSUP projects. 

■ Strengthened 38 main power lines, including those that serve critical services.  

■ Inspected and maintained vegetation near 3,192 miles of power lines – an average of 177 miles per year.   

■ Inspected 86,321 power poles for strength.

■ Installed smart grid technology, including 3,072 automated switches on main and neighborhood power lines.  

Cumulative improvements in the Melbourne area: When the planned 2024 work is completed, FPL will have made the following improvements since 2006:  

■ Strengthened 58 main power lines, including those that serve critical services.  

■ Inspected and maintained vegetation near 2,805 miles of power lines – an average of 156 miles per year.   

■ Inspected 45,951 power poles for strength.

■ Installed smart grid technology, including 2,141 automated switches on main and neighborhood power lines.  

“We are so pleased to be able to offer these system upgrades to our customers in Palm Bay and Melbourne. Our dedicated team at FPL is committed to providing you with safe and reliable electric service. These upgrades, including the very latest grid technology, will help get the lights back on faster after storms.”

An annual report filed March 1 with the Florida Public Service Commission details how FPL delivered the best service reliability in company history last year. In the most recent statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, FPL’s service reliability was nearly three times better than the national average.

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