bphgravity
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More POCO problems in Florida:
More POCO problems in Florida
- Thread starter bphgravity
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PUNTA GORDA -- Florida Power & Light officials are taking seriously the threat of fires and other electrical problems in Punta Gorda Isles, Burnt Store Isles and other city subdivisions.
In the city, the power company runs its connections to many homes from power poles to underground connection boxes that bring electrical power into homes.
The cause of a Christmas Day fire may have been due to a ground wire becoming charged in the "hand-hole" box where the power line connections run underground into homes. But since the fire, city officials have started hearing of other electrical problems from residents -- including two of the council members.
FP&L Area Manager Grover Whidden told the City Council on Wednesday that the power company is now testing 100 of the 2,700 similar connections throughout the city. Technicians will conduct visual and infrared testing for hot spots on the connections. Statistically, Whidden said, the testing should give FP&L a good idea whether the company faces a systemic problem throughout Punta Gorda.
"We started this process yesterday, and in the cases we examined yesterday, we did not find any elevated temperatures or anything out of the ordinary," Whidden said. He expects FP&L technicians may take two weeks to complete the testing.
"If we do find any defects -- and we very well may -- we will then determine what needs to be done with the general population," he said. "We're very prepared to take corrective action."
The problems with the connection boxes do not affect those whose electrical connections run from power poles directly to houses. Homes where power is provided by completely underground power systems also should not be affected.
During the course of what became a somewhat technical discussion Wednesday, Councilwoman Marilyn Smith-Mooney and others became a bit unnerved when they learned that if a ground wire becomes charged, even shutting down the power from the breaker box will not stop electricity from flowing into a house.
In the case of the Christmas fire, Whidden said he did not have all the answers to why the fire started when the power was turned off. FP&L will be interested in what an investigation by fire officials discovers.
"I'm sure that's a very ungluing response for us to hear," Smith-Mooney said. "I'd like to find out, ultimately, how this fire really started -- if it was from the power coming from FP&L to the house.
"If it was something else, then that would relieve us," she said. "We wouldn't have this tremendous worry about the FP&L junction box."
The council directed Fire Chief Robert Hancock to find an electrical consultant so residents can learn what to do to better protect their homes. The council also encouraged residents to contact City Manager Howard Kunik if they have had problems with connection boxes.
Bruce Vandeventer, whose mother's Kittiwake Drive home caught fire Christmas Day, became upset when Whidden suggested the ground wire to the home may have have been faulty.
On the day of the fire, Vandeventer's sister sustained an electrical shock when she touched the pool cage at her mother's home. Although he was cautioned against speaking publicly, Vandeventer said, "If (the ground wire was defective), when my sister touched that pool cage, it would have killed her immediately or myself when I turned off the main fuse.
"I am glad, however, that it's brought out the same concern that we did," he said. "Thank God, this did not happen in the middle of the night. My mother would never have survived."
While the power company does its inspection of the power grid throughout Punta Gorda, Kunik said Lee County fire officials will review the Punta Gorda fire department's response to the Kittiwake Drive fire.