FPL Continues Strengthening Miami-Dade’s Electric Infrastructure to Enhance Hurricane Resilience
As the 2026 hurricane season begins, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) is continuing its long-term commitment to strengthening the electric grid across Miami-Dade County through a series of infrastructure upgrades designed to improve reliability, reduce outages, and speed up power restoration following severe weather events.
Florida remains one of the states most vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms, making a resilient energy system essential for residents, businesses, and critical facilities. To help communities better withstand extreme weather, FPL is investing in projects that combine advanced technology, stronger infrastructure, and proactive maintenance throughout the county.
This year, FPL plans to complete 203 projects under its Storm Secure Underground Program (SSUP), replacing overhead neighborhood power lines with more resilient underground systems. Underground power lines are less susceptible to damage from high winds, flying debris, and falling trees, helping provide more reliable service during and after major storms.
The company will also install 49 intelligent devices on main, neighborhood, and underground power lines throughout Miami-Dade. These automated smart-grid technologies can quickly detect outages and reroute electricity when possible, reducing the number of customers affected and minimizing restoration times.
Another major component of the 2026 infrastructure plan involves strengthening 53 main power lines that serve critical community facilities, including hospitals, 911 emergency call centers, police and fire stations, water treatment plants, and county emergency operations centers. By upgrading these essential power lines with stronger materials and infrastructure, FPL aims to improve system performance during severe weather and support faster recovery efforts.
Preventive maintenance remains a key part of the company’s strategy as well. FPL crews will trim trees and vegetation along 2,193 miles of power lines across Miami-Dade County. Tree-related damage remains one of the leading causes of power outages during storms, making vegetation management a critical component of grid reliability.
In addition, FPL plans to inspect 37,059 power poles throughout the county.
Poles that no longer meet the company’s engineering and safety standards will be strengthened or replaced to improve overall system resilience.
These local improvements are part of FPL’s broader statewide efforts to build one of the nation’s strongest and smartest electric grids. According to the company, self-healing smart-grid technology helped avoid more than 1.6 million customer interruptions in 2025.
Today, FPL has installed approximately 246,000 intelligent devices across Florida, while 85% of its main power lines have either been hardened or placed underground.
“Our employees work every day in Miami-Dade County to provide safe, reliable electric service while keeping customer bills as low as possible,” said Armando Fernandez, FPL’s External Affairs Director. “By continuing to invest in our electric grid, we are strengthening resilience year-round and helping our communities recover faster when severe weather impacts our area.”
As hurricane season continues, these ongoing investments demonstrate FPL’s commitment to keeping Miami-Dade communities powered, connected, and better prepared for future storms
