(This column was originally published in the Tallahassee Democrat on September 12, 2004)
“Hey,” I wondered after Tropical Storm Frances, “how did the guy who lives across the street not lose power when the power went out?” Or maybe you’ve wondered, “How did some people only lose power for an hour while I was without power for 14 hours?”
Officials say the answers come down to priorities, logistics and those pesky trees that make Tallahassee so beautiful.
Because in any power outage due to storms, the city’s electricity department restores service according to a specific list of priorities and by going to the location of the problem. Nearly all of Tallahassee’s storm-related power outages—90% during Frances—are caused by trees, tree limbs and tree limbs falling onto utility poles or power lines.
All of this makes restoring electrical power a constant juggling act.
“Our primary role is to provide reliable electric service to our customers,” said Kevin Wiles, general manager of electric utility operations for the city. “But we have to do it in a way that is safe for our customers and our employees. Getting power back on five minutes faster if someone is killed is not going to be a good business.”
About 35,000 of the city’s electric customers lost electrical power at some point during Tropical Storm Frances. The first power outage occurred at 4 pm on September 5. At the peak, on Sept. 6, 16,000 customers were without service — some without power for more than 12 hours.
But power was restored to customers throughout the event. By 2 a.m. on September 8, power had been restored to the last 500 customers without power.
“Can we look back and see areas (during Francis) where we can improve? Absolutely,” Wiles said. “But overall, I think our staff did a very excellent job.”
The city’s electrical system consists of 200 miles of transmission lines, which transmit power to 17 substations, whose 150 circuits distribute electricity through 1,750 miles of distribution lines to 100,000 customers.
The city’s electric company has 110 employees in repair and maintenance crews. When a storm causes a power outage, computers automatically notify officials of problems, such as blown circuits at a substation. But other problems are only discovered when they are reported and require a site visit to determine the cause, such as fallen poles, downed lines, and shorted transformers.
During Francis’ three-plus days, city electrical utility repair crews worked around the clock, with 16 crews during the day and seven to eight crews at night. The crew had to make 1,600 site visits to fix electrical problems.
Crews were dispatched in order of priority:
Electrical service is restored first to hospitals, congregate shelters, major traffic intersections and individuals who have been certified by Lyon County health officials as having a medical need for electrical power.
Next on the priority list are areas where crews can restore power to the largest number of customers at once. This means that densely populated neighborhoods typically regain power sooner than sparsely populated streets.
Third on the list are groups of one to 20 homes without power due to individual problems after power was restored to the rest of the neighborhood. Fourth on the list are customers served by downed utility poles: Because erecting a new pole is a difficult, time-consuming, and potentially dangerous task (especially in high winds, rain, or darkness), officials generally wait until the storm passes. Before replacing the dropped column.
“You don’t want to be the third and fourth priority,” city spokeswoman Michelle Buono said. “But when people understand how we do it, they are usually more tolerant.”
Time varies for each job: Replacing a blown transformer takes less time than removing fallen trees on wires. The time may also vary from street to street, as not all residents in the same neighborhood are on the same precinct or substation. That’s why you may be without power while the people across the street have their lights on.
The city intentionally connects residents within a neighborhood to different circuits so that if one circuit breaks down and cannot be repaired for an extended period, residents can be connected to another circuit serving that neighborhood.
“It’s frustrating. People have a perception that when they call (in the event of a power outage), we should be able to tell them when the power will come back on and there should be someone there right away,” Wiles said. “It’s not that simple.”
The main cause of power outages in Tallahassee is trees, from trees uprooted by winds causing power lines and poles to be struck by broken branches that short out transformers.
Wiles acknowledged that Tallahassee’s tree trimming policy plays a role. For years, trees around power lines within 10-12 feet of power lines have been cut every five years. In 1997, at the recommendation of a citizen advisory committee, the tree trimming policy was changed to 4-6 feet every 18 months.
Some residents complain that officials have to trim trees more aggressively around power lines to reduce power outages — even though a policy of removing 10- to 12-foot trees was in place when Hurricane Kate struck in 1985 and caused weeks-long power outages. . But Bono said most citizens support closer tree trimming standards.
“During a hurricane, it may not seem like a good thing,” she said. “But the other 360 days of the year, we like the look and feel of this community because it’s very shaded.”
Anne Bidlingmeier, a longtime tree advocate who served on the 1997 advisory committee, agrees. She said trimming standards caused fewer problems during Francis’ tenure than falling trees due to damage to the roots caused by construction projects.
“Tallahassee is the Tree City of America; we must maintain our commitment to preserving our natural resources,” Bidlingmeyer said. “I think the price of living in Tallahassee is the occasional inconvenience when power lines are damaged (by trees).”
Gerald Inslee was a reporter and columnist for the Tallahassee Democrat from 1980 until his retirement in 2015. He died in 2018 after suffering a stroke. The Tallahassee Democratic Party will publish columns capturing Tallahassee’s history from Inslee’s vast archives every Sunday through 2024 in the Opinion section as part ofTLH 200: Gerald Ensley’s Bicentennial Project.
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