Interesting Story

[bphgravity]

Interesting Story:

Utility pole fires spark Lower Keys power outages
BY CHRIS TITTEL

Citizen Staff


Almost two dozen utility pole fires throughout the Lower Keys cut power to thousands of homes and businesses overnight Tuesday.

Keys Energy spokesman Julio Barroso said the first pole fires were reported about 11 p.m. Tuesday.

As of Wednesday morning, he said there had been about 20 fires throughout the Keys Energy service area. The company serves about 27,000 households from Key West to the Seven Mile Bridge.

"Pole fires are not uncommon occurrences, but the amount that we have had has been a little bit more than usual, due to the weather," he said.

David Fraga, division chief of the Key West Fire Department, said firefighters answered a dozen calls in the city limits in little more than 10 hours. He also said that all of the fires were confined to the poles.

"We had a very busy night," he said.

Barroso recalled the last time this happened was the day after Hurricane Wilma, when a pole fire in Tavernier cut power to much of the Keys.

According to Keys Energy, the dry weather is partly to blame: It increases the likelihood of salt and sediment ? which can act as conductors for electricity running through power lines ? building up on utility poles and hardware. Light rain then tracks the electricity from the lines to the wooden cross-arms or poles, resulting in fires and outage.

Keys Energy workers and local firefighters isolate the lines around a pole fire. Once the fire dies out, Keys Energy workers apply temporary patches to restore power as quickly as possible.

Barroso said that crews were replacing damaged cross-arms and poles on Wednesday.

"The light, misting rain is our Achilles' heel," Barroso said. "If that keeps happening, pole fires might continue. What we need is a steady rain to solve the problem."

 

[pierre]

Re: Interesting Story

"What we need is a steady rain to solve the problem."

What they need is a heavy rain to "dissolve" the problem.

We have had 2 storms in 3 days that have the power company here scrambling for help. Just when they got most of the houses/businesses on from the first storm, the second storm did more damage and there are hundreds of thousands of people who lost power... some will not be back on for days... it is not as warm here as in the Keys.

I lost power both times, but mine is back on.

 

[hardworkingstiff]

Re: Interesting Story

Sounds like a case for U/G utilities.

 

[charlie]

Re: Interesting Story

UG is much too expensive. Trust me, you would not like your power bills if everything were underground.

 

[LawnGuyLandSparky]

Re: Interesting Story

I like my water bills more than my power bills, and water is underground!

 

[petersonra]

Re: Interesting Story

Originally posted by charlie:
UG is much too expensive. Trust me, you would not like your power bills if everything were underground.

Interestingly, it has been claimed around here that running U/G cable is less expensive than installing the poles. It seemed logical to me when I heard it. I also heard it requires less maintenance after wards as well.

 

[charlie]

Re: Interesting Story

Bob, that is a true statement if you are talking about distribution in a subdivision, apartment project, or light commercial area. However, if you are talking about main distribution lines you are talking about very large cables, switchgear at junction points for switching, and very expensive equipment to make the system work.

Also, take a look at the system flexibility with an overhead system instead of and underground system. If you have a new business and need to take a fused tap, you set a pole, install a cutout and run the primary. With underground, you set a switchgear for about $15k and go from there. The pole for about $5k is a whole lot more palatable and there is often one already there.

 

[bphgravity]

Re: Interesting Story

The problem with underground in many parts of Florida, especially the Keys is that you hit water only about 2-4 feet down. Many utility systems have severe problems with infiltration.

Since the hurricanes, there has been lots of talk about going to mostly underground systems to prevent the problems of wind damage. An FPL rep made the statement that converting from overhead to underground would cost on average about $13,000 per home in the SW Florida area.