Florida Power Official Makes Unheard-of Prediction for Crippled Electrical Grid: Even in a state used to hurricane damage, the power and scope of Hurricane Irma was unprecedented as it swept through Florida, and the recovery effort is likely going to be unprecedented too, especially when it comes to restoring electric power to the Sunshine Stateโs battered residents.
Robert Gould, Florida Power & Lightโs vice president and chief communications officer, said the monstrous storm would likely necessitate a โwholesale rebuildโ of the electrical grid on Floridaโs Gulf Coast, according to ABC.
โThat will take weeks,โ Gould explained. โThis thing is a monster.โ
As of Monday morning, roughly 4 million people were without power in the wake of the storm, according to CNBC.
Florida Power & Light, the stateโs biggest power company, had at least 11,000 crew members on standby to restore power once Irma had made its way through the state, according to WLRN.
Ninety percent of the companyโs customers live within 20 miles of the coastline.
โI can say this with certainty. We have arguably one of the strongest grids in America, but no grid is designed to be able to withstand a Category 5 storm,โ Gould said.
He also warned that many Floridans would be without power for a while due to dangerous conditions following the storm.
โWe expect, given the fact the storm has slowed down, many of our customers will be out for a day or longer, given that, much like emergency responders, our crews cannot get out and work. Itโs just too dangerous,โ Gould told the Sun Sentinel.
When restoration operations begin, priority will be given to the companyโs own power plants, substations and wrecked transmission lines. Then, the company will focus on hospitals, police and fire stations, water treatment plants and communication facilities. Gas stations, supermarkets, pharmacies and community centers will follow.
Fortunately, the electrical situation wasnโt as bad as other places affected by Hurricane Irma, such as Puerto Rico, where officials estimated it could take half a year to completely restore power.
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Over here on the Atlantic’s Treasure Coast beaches, after watching Sandy wipe Jersey Shores off the map, we began spending millions building up our dunes, and replacing most wood power poles with either concrete or aluminum ones. We’re still at it. Our area was in the dangerous semicircle, pounded by over 12 inches of rain. Our house lost 2 dozen concrete roof tiles, and the power went off halfway through the storm passing at about 19:30 Sunday.
Monday awoke to huge trees down, most traffic lights were lying smashed all over A1A, most shrubs were leafless with some uprooted. Some tile condo roofs were demolished.
Yet, all roads were dry. In less than 24 hours (about 17:00) power was restored.
The reaction to Sandy by the cities of Tampa & Fort Myers was nothing. They were barely touched by Irma, and yet they need a new power grid.
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