This was the biggest non-issue of all time. FPL made a presentation in which they showed us what they want to do (install all concrete poles), showed us a modification they're willing to make (10 of the new poles to be wood, instead of concrete), and made sure we understand that they really think all concrete is best.
The available new wood poles, by the way, are not the same as the old wood poles with which some of us declare we are in love. The old wood poles are 12 inches in diameter, the new wood poles would be 14 inches in diameter, and the concrete poles are 16 inches square.
Four of the Commissioners were in full agreement with each other and with FPL. We got it: concrete poles are much sturdier and more reliable, and in our opinion, they look better than wood poles. And whether they do or they don't, we agreed that all one pole material or all another pole material looks vastly better than a mixture.
One of us was unmoved about the poles, sort of. What had initially looked like a dedication to wood poles turned out not to be a dedication to anything. It was not a vote for, but a vote against. Barbara Watts wound up pleading for "wood, composite," or anything but concrete. If Barbara is OK with "composite," whatever that is, then it becomes extremely unclear what she doesn't like about concrete. And by the way, once Barbara starts telling us that even wood poles which are warped, leaning, and splitting have a special kind of charm to them (no, I did not make this up), it becomes really hard to stay with her.
The bottom line, Andrew, is that the Commission voted 4-1 to encourage FPL to get those concrete poles in here, ASAP, before hurricane season starts up. I guess that's not exactly going to happen, since hurricane season starts at the originally-planned project completion date of 6/1, but Aletha Player says the project will take eight weeks to complete. That finishes it just after 7/1.
That timing should still be fine... if a hurricane decides to pay us a visit, it's typically during the two months from late August through late October. Regarding the concrete option, very good. The current concrete poles look fine, and if the experts say that's what we should have, who are we to argue? It's their poles and their infratructure, not ours! And of course, more reliable power and quicker restoration of power is something everyone can agree on.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 wood poles in my yard, one in front and one in back. The one in back failed during Andrew and we lost power. It took 2 1/2 weeks to get replaced so all of the neighbors in that line were without power at the hottest part of the summer. And the poles fail because (I think) of all the piggy backing that Comcast does with their very heavy cable lines, not because of the weight of FPL cables. So concrete is a must or aluminum poles (but those must be 10 times as expensive). I WISH FPL would consider replacing the poles in my yard with concrete, but I guess that's not in the cards for now. The commission made the right decision on this and on the rest of the voting too. I feel better about last year election now.
ReplyDeleteAgreed Jorge. We are finally starting to move forward with issues. I would also like to have the stronger more reliable concrete poles on my block but am in the same situation you are.
DeleteEXCELLENT! I too wish all the poles could be concrete....thanks for the commission seeing this issue to the obvious conclusion!
ReplyDelete