Storm Season 2024: How is the Miami Energy Grid Prepared This Time?
As Miami residents gear up for the storm season, here is an update from the Miami Energy Grid about their preparedness.
On the southeastern coast of Florida, Miami enjoys warm and sunny weather all year. It is not just a cultural hub but a dynamic beachfront city. However, the city experiences some of the worst winds, storms, and rain due to its geographic conditions. The destruction caused during hurricane season keeps the residents and authorities on their toes.
We spoke to Shawn Johnson, Communication Specialist—Marketing & Communications at NextEra Energy, Inc., Florida Power & Light Company, to get an insight into their preparations for the 2024 hurricane season.
FPL has been involved in year-round improvements that reduce outages and restoration costs. The improvements include strengthening nearly all main power lines serving critical community facilities and services and replacing wooden poles and transmission structures with steel or concrete. Another critical development was the Storm Secure Underground Program, which moved all power lines underground. This way, trees and vegetation will no longer be in contact with power lines.
Shawn mentions that the company has always been working towards improvements in Miami. Even though it is impossible to make the grid stormproof, the regular improvements have benefitted all FPL customers by reducing outages and restoration costs in unfavorable weather conditions.
Since 2011, smart grid technology has prevented almost 13 million outages, of which more than 600,000 occurred during the last two hurricanes. Additionally, Shawn says, “The underground power lines we’re installing through the Storm Secure Underground Program have proven to be more reliable than overhead lines—performing significantly better during severe weather and about 50% better day-to-day in Miami and throughout our service area.”
Another development area has been the introduction of new technologies to improve the reliability of services. “The smart grid technology network,” he mentions, “continues to expand, which helps us detect and prevent power outages and minimize restoration times when outages occur. We’ve also begun using “smart trimming” technology to supplement our proactive efforts to trim trees and other vegetation along thousands of miles of power lines.”
Besides, “automated underground switches will help us better detect and prevent outages, while also minimizing restoration times when outages occur by allowing us to re-route power as needed.” The “smart trimming” platform allows FPL to deliver a smarter, more targeted vegetation management program, making the services even more reliable.
Shawn highlighted FPL’s record reliability in 2023, thanks to investments in a resilient grid. Over 20 years, FPL improved reliability by 45%, nearly two-thirds above the national average. He urges proactive safety measures during severe weather, directing customers to FPL.com/Storm for tips.
