Florida utility sued for hurricane (Wilma) blackouts

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-11-18T165557Z_01_N18590888_RTRIDST_0_UTILITIES-FPL.XML

MIAMI, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A Florida businessman has sued Florida Power & Light over Hurricane Wilma's massive blackouts, accusing the state's largest power company of gross negligence in failing to maintain power poles and other equipment.

Wilma, which hit Florida on Oct. 24, knocked out electricity to about 3.2 million FPL customers, leaving nearly 6.5 million people without lights, refrigeration or air conditioning, some for weeks.

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The Miami Herald reported FPL scrimped on tree-trimming, pole inspections and basic maintenance, slashing operating and maintenance costs per customer by 32 percent between 1991 and 2001.

"They have significantly decreased their maintenance costs in the face of substantial profits," Freidin said. "They have had a tremendous opportunity to prepare and their failure to prepare is what's mystifying."

The lawsuit primarily seeks an injunction to force FPL to properly maintain its system, Freidin said. It also asks for "consequential damages," which could include the costs a business faced because it was shut down due to a lack of electricity.

...more...

In my area, people scream when the power company wants to trim anywhere near their trees.

Tree branches fall every day. It only takes one to come down across a power cable or phone line to screw up the whole neighborhood for hours.

1. FPL -Florida Plunder and Loot - has been advocating that their existing system of "visual" inspections of poles is adequate. It is not. They should be periodically doing pole borings and soundings. The poles have been around since Flagler brought the railroad down here (a slight exaggeration, but you get my piont).

This last storm was, at best, a moderate CAT 2. There would not have been the two weeks plus of outage if our landscape was not littered with old, snapped poles.

2. They have been cutting back on the tree trimming for the last ten years. It has to change. And property owners that refuse to comply should be fined. Lots of fines and if they don't pay, put a lien on the property.

3. Sub-stations. With one exception, they are all out doors and they were seriously impacted by this storm. The one station which was protected and inside, Miami Beach, was out for less than a day.

FPL has been focused on one priority and one only: the return on investment to their stockholders.

They care little about the customer base they serve.

The men and women running FPL are assholes - as was more than confirmed by speaking to many of the crews which were imported from other states who found the conditions, electrical grid, and power infrastructure here deplorable and unacceptable by their own standards in their own states.

they will lose revenue because of the power outage. Every day that a customer does not have power is a day that customer doesn't pay. This hurts the stockholders.

and get it over with?

Don't tell me it's too expensive. They put everything else underground, it can and must be done.

... or two. Because that is what it would take.

The problem can be managed by the items noted in my post above. That is, if FPL truly cared about its community. They don't. They care only about maximizing their shareholder's ROI.

Moreover, Jeb Bush's Public Service Commission let's them get away with their rape day after day - and they've just filed for two new whoppers that are absolutely ridiculous, especially after this most recent "performance" on their part vis-a-vis Wilma. Big surprise.

I'd much rather spend it So Fl buring electric lines.

FPL does ad hoc planning-- in the long run the 10 billion used would pay for itself--

After Wilma for example-- FPL trucks used 250K gallons of gas daily....

The difficulty of underground lines is tied more to the higher water table, etc.

FPL should be sued, though, as they neglect the infrastructure and then pass of the restructuring to us the consumers while stockholders reap the benefits....

FPL = Florida Plunder and Loot.

would not be a very good idea. In a lot of places in Florida you only have to dig 3 feet into the ground and you will hit water.

The lines on my property are underground along with the cable, telephone, sewer and water. It's not that hard to do and the underground water has nothing to do with it. It certainly doesn't get in the way of them putting up another hi-rise.

... has many of its own unique problems.

It is not the solution - Iraq spending notwithstanding, per the other poster above, in what is not a federal but a state utility matter.

Their maintenance and preparation for any storm is awful. The Public
Service Commission recently gave them a 19% fuel charge increase. Not to mention when they come with their hand out for "Hurricane Relief", meaning we get to pay fir their neglect. By the way these
people on thew "Public" Service Commission are appointees of JEB.