1 / 22

Burying the Distribution Wires (A Modest Proposal To Encourage Investment in Underground Distribution Lines)

Burying the Distribution Wires (A Modest Proposal To Encourage Investment in Underground Distribution Lines). Presented at The Florida PSC’s Electric Utility Infrastructure Staff Workshop by Charles A. Falcone Commissioner, Town of Jupiter Island Tallahassee, Florida January 23, 2006.

lexiss
Download Presentation

Burying the Distribution Wires (A Modest Proposal To Encourage Investment in Underground Distribution Lines)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Burying the Distribution Wires(A Modest Proposal To Encourage Investment in Underground Distribution Lines) Presented at The Florida PSC’s Electric Utility Infrastructure Staff Workshop by Charles A. Falcone Commissioner, Town of Jupiter Island Tallahassee, Florida January 23, 2006

  2. Town of Jupiter Island • A Small Town of Some 600 Homes on a Barrier Island in Martin County • We’ve Pressed FPL For Underground Conversion Since Year 2000 • Our Power Supply Reliability Has Been Poor • We Love Our Trees! • We’re Willing to Pay the Cost of Conversion, but……. We don’t want to Overpay!

  3. I Used To Be An 800 Pound Gorilla Too!

  4. Obstacles To Conversion High Cost FPL’s Policies— Easements vs. ROWs Overheads Duration of Construction Project Ownership

  5. We’re Now Collaborating With FPL!

  6. History of Jupiter Island’s Efforts To Bury Distribution Lines • Year s 2000-2002: High Cost Discouraged Us • Years 2003-2004 : On The Back Burner • September 2004 Hurricanes: On The Front Burner! • Early 2005: FPL Develops Engineering Estimate • October 2005: Wilma! FPL’s Epiphany

  7. Epiph-a-ny (Webster): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking

  8. Hurricane Wilma Caused A Sea Change!

  9. We’re Now Working Collaboratively With FPL! • The Project Cost may be Lower! FPL is evaluating a cost incentive • Agreement on Using the ROW, Where Feasible, for Underground Facilities! • Town Collaboration on the Layout • Good Understanding on Hardening the Feeders Coming Into Town • Evaluation of Waterproof Switchgear

  10. Is Underground Distribution More Reliable? You Bet! We’re convinced; but you may not be yet

  11. There’s an “Understanding” Among Utilities…. Underground is no more reliable than overhead Avoid publishing any data that would contradict this

  12. Reliability of Underground vs. Overhead DistributionFlorida and Nationwide • I’ve read 12 Recent Reports on UG Distribution • Scant Data on Reliability! • NO Data at all in Florida Reports! • FPL Ignored Several Requests • We’re Collecting Data Ourselves!

  13. Utilities Have Discouraged Conversions!Why? • It would be a lot of trouble to carry out extensive conversions • This work would not increase ROE— in fact, it would lower ROE! • For the existing customers and the same rates, the utility must contribute capital • New customers are different. The utility must connect them to do business

  14. Underground Distribution is Especially Desirable in Florida • Salt Spray Contaminates Insulators • Fast Vegetation Growth Interferes With Overhead Lines • Highest Lightning Frequency in the USA! • Hurricanes Happen Here!

  15. Distribution Has Been A “Stepchild” • Most facilities are old • Maintenance and capital additions are “as needed” • Book values are a fraction of original cost, and a smaller fraction of today’s cost • This is great business for the utilities! It’s a “Cash Cow” • New neighborhoods are mostly going underground

  16. Needed: A Customer-friendly Underground Conversion PolicyIn Florida • Good Public Policy--Encourage Towns and Communities to Convert • Towns Must Pay Conversion Costs • But-- Provide a Cost Incentive • Facilitate Administrative Processes

  17. Example:Municipal Utilities Have Carried Out Some Conversions Generally they have encouraged neighborhoods to convert with a modest cost sharing– around 25% Examples: Town of Pawley’s Island, SC (Served By Santee Cooper) also --Vero Beach, Fort Pierce

  18. Questions?

More Related