[Sunshine Rules]

We have FL Power & Light here in my part of Manatee county and it's been very reliable during the 18 years I've been here.

The power lines are buried in our area and that may be why we never lost power during hurricanes or tropical storms.

Plus, they have an online site where you can report any outages that do occur and it gives you updates on when to expect power to be restored. Very customer friendly.


Above ground power lines definitely lead to more outages.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

It’s your above ground power lines. We don’t have the same problems where they’re buried, even with TECO.

Okay. But the majority of the City of Tampa has above-ground lines! And many other cities in Florida!

And it's not like I or anyone else can do anything about this.

Like I said, Tampa isn't the only city in America with above-ground lines...............but Tampa does have horrible TECO doing next to nothing to maintain these lines.........

Trust me, if you had power outages for 4-10 hours every couple months, and you worked remotely, you would be one unhappy camper too. It's worse then third world here in Tampa

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by SanyBelle

The power in my Miami condo hasn't been out since Hurricane Irma in September 2017. Once in awhile it flickers and I have to reset my clocks, but that doesn't happen very often.

Yes, the power in my property in the Killian area (near The Falls) has not gone out since Irma.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by sinatras

Okay. But the majority of the City of Tampa has above-ground lines! And many other cities in Florida!

And it's not like I or anyone else can do anything about this.

Like I said, Tampa isn't the only city in America with above-ground lines...............but Tampa does have horrible TECO doing next to nothing to maintain these lines.........

Trust me, if you had power outages for 4-10 hours every couple months, and you worked remotely, you would be one unhappy camper too. It's worse then third world here in Tampa

Install a generator and problem solved!

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by Threestep2

Install a generator and problem solved!

That is NOT a solution. I should not have to spend nearly $10k on a generator to provide reliable electricity in a city. Why is unreliable electric service tolerated in Tampa?????

[FL_Expert]

Originally Posted by sinatras

Okay. But the majority of the City of Tampa has above-ground lines! And many other cities in Florida!

It’s just the older neighborhoods with this problem.

Originally Posted by sinatras

And it's not like I or anyone else can do anything about this.

Have you tried?

Dana Shores came together and had their lines buried themselves.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

It’s just the older neighborhoods with this problem.

Have you tried?

Dana Shores came together and had their lines buried themselves.

Again, "just the older neighborhoods" would describe the majority of the City of Tampa and also many burbs!

Instead of trying to get together and improve the decrepit power grid, I think what happens is that people just get fed up and leave Tampa.

[vaughanwilliams]

Not that I'm sticking up for TECO or any of the power companies, but stuff does happen. At my job, we had a racoon take out an entire wastewater treatment plant by tangling with the high voltage lines. The racoon lost the fight but it was still a mess.

The smaller power companies (co-ops or municipality owned) that I'm familiar with seem to do a better job than the bigger ones, at least in the day to day operation.

[Lillie767]

The OP seems to have an unusually high number of problems with Florida that no one else has. I guess that's the reason he has so many negative opinions of Florida or maybe it's because he's a native Floridian.


I personally rarely have any power outages of consequence, especially compared to power outages in summer and winter in New England.


If, as you say, you work from home and uninterrupted electricity is required, you definitely should install back-up power. Maybe your employer will pay for it if you say you cannot WFH without it?

Or maybe you should just travel more to obviate your power concerns.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by Lillie767

The OP seems to have an unusually high number of problems with Florida that no one else has. I guess that's the reason he has so many negative opinions of Florida or maybe it's because he's a native Floridian.

If your power never goes out and you live in Florida consider yourself exceedingly lucky and fortunate.

As a matter of fact I am a native Floridian and yes, absolutely, losing power for many hours at least 6-8 times a year for NO REASON other than lack of equipment maintenance would give anyone a negative opinion of where they live. I would have the same negative opinion if I lived in Des Moines Iowa, Jackson Hole Montana or Hampton South Carolina.

You TOO would get tired of coming home to melted ice cream all over the freezer and defrosted steaks and fried electronics 6-8 times a year.

And by the way, this is a common problem in the City of Tampa and when my power goes out, so does the entire neighborhood's. So again, it's not just me.

Why exactly should I tolerate not having reliable electricity in a major city in "the greatest country in the world"? This is a problem that has been going on in Tampa for DECADES with no end in sight.

Last night I was working on a Powerpoint for work, when around 8 p.m. the power went out. I sat in the dark again, for the third time this year. A few hours later a TECO guy showed up and replaced some connectors. I went outside around 2 a.m. "Oh yeah these connectors should have been replaced months ago, I don't know why they haven't been replaced." It's always the same story from TECO. They wait until stuff breaks and people lose power to do anything. Six hours with no power and another sleepless night.

I'll be back here in a few months with another power outage report from the decrepit City of Tampa. But next time hopefully I will be out of town, and not have any food in the fridge. Since TECO power cannot be counted on.