- April 25, 2024
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‘Look at this monster they put in a residential neighborhood,’ neighbor says.
FPL has been on a campaign to strengthen electrical delivery service since the 2004 hurricanes, but some area residents aren’t happy with an improvement on their street.
A large “"automated feeder switch,” designed to prevent power outages, has been hanging over the driveway of Bonnie Emery on Sanchez Drive for a couple of months.
“I told them it belongs in an industrial park,” she said.
Emery, along with other residents of the street, has complained to city officials as well as FPL, in an effort to get the device relocated.
She said she moved onto the street years ago because it was a “canopy street.” Now, the view from her house is the large concrete pole and the feeder switch.
She said electrical boxes on the ground can be hidden by bushes, but nothing can be done to disguise the large metal box 50 feet in the air.
She pointed out that no electrical lines were going from the poles to her house.
“When I moved in in 1997, I had everything put underground,” she said.
Sanchez Drive is now lined with concrete power poles, as part of the overall strengthening of electrical service that supports the Ormond Beach Waste Treatment Plant, according to Eileen Dees, FPL spokeswoman. Facilities such as the plant, hospitals and fire stations have been designated as critical infrastructure.
Dees said the automated feeder switches are part of smart grid technology that will maintain reliable service and get lights on faster following outages caused by severe weather.
“It’s part of an aggressive approach we’ve taken since the 2004 hurricanes,” she said. “We’ve identified critical areas. Since 2006 FPL has spent 1.4 billion dollars across 35 counties.”
Emery has gotten results with her telephone calls and emails. She received a letter in July from an FPL official promising that the switch will be relocated in a matter of months.
“We are actively seeking an alternate location,” the letter states.
Emery said she was told that the original plan was for the switch to be at the end of the street, but there was interference with a sewer line. An FPL spokesman did not respond to a request to confirm that information in time for this issue.
Emery’s neighbor, across the street, Carl Leo, said the switch looks awful, but he can’t see it from his house because of a large shade tree in his front yard.
“Look at this monster they put in a residential neighborhood,” he said.
He said it would make more sense, and save money in the long run, to put all of the electrical service underground.
Dees said others areas planned for upgrade in Ormond Beach include U.S. Highway 1, Amsted Road, Ocean Shore Boulevard, Putnum Avenue, Beach Street, John Anderson Drive, Granada Boulevard and Orchard Street.
She said projects planned to strengthen the electric system will improve everyday reliability for customers, as well as protect against high winds.
“We’re replacing poles that no longer meet our standards for strength and in some areas we’re adding new poles,” she said. “The type of pole selected for a specific area is based on various factors including distance between the poles and load bearing capability.”
