[sinatras]

Originally Posted by 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.

From what I can tell, this "stuff doesn't happen" in other cities/states.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by 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.

I just googled this. Only 25% of electric transmission lines in the USA are underground. So MOST lines are above ground. Yet most Americans are not having 6-8 power outages a year I can assure you.

[SanyBelle]

Originally Posted by sinatras

I just googled this. Only 25% of electric transmission lines in the USA are underground. So MOST lines are above ground. Yet most Americans are not having 6-8 power outages a year I can assure you.

Are you tying to do anything about this other than just inquiring here on C-D about it? Maybe ask your elected officials or ask on NextDoor if there are any plans to modernize your neighborhood?

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by SanyBelle

Are you tying to do anything about this other than just inquiring here on C-D about it? Maybe ask your elected officials or ask on NextDoor if there are any plans to modernize your neighborhood?

Our complaints (yes OUR, as in me and the rest of my neighborhood) have fallen on deaf ears. We have complained to the Public Service Commission and every govt official known to man.

Since you bring up Nextdoor, yes my Nextdoor feed has at least one power outage report a day.

My intent with this thread was not to complain. Nobody cares that I lose power all the time in Tampa. Some people in this thread are maybe even glad I lose power.

My intent was to educate would-be Floridians on the reliability (decrepit state) of the power grid in Florida and specifically Tampa.

[jean_ji]

We have FPL, 90 minutes south of you, and have had no power outages other than after Irma and Ian. No blips at all. We have above ground power lines.

We lived in a small village in NY north of NYC and had outages many times with no reasons for them. They were usually for short duration and annoying, especially the one while I was cooking dinner for Thanksgiving one year.

No apparent reason for outages is hard to live with. I’ve been a lot happier with our power in FL which is surprising with the heavy storms we get in the summer and the lights don’t even flicker.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by jean_ji

We have FPL, 90 minutes south of you, and have had no power outages other than after Irma and Ian. No blips at all. We have above ground power lines.

We lived in a small village in NY north of NYC and had outages many times with no reasons for them. They were usually for short duration and annoying, especially the one while I was cooking dinner for Thanksgiving one year.

No apparent reason for outages is hard to live with. I’ve been a lot happier with our power in FL which is surprising with the heavy storms we get in the summer and the lights don’t even flicker.

You are very lucky to have FPL!!!!!!!! I never volunteer to cook holiday dinners b/c I do not have reliable electricity.

[Corrie22]

Originally Posted by sinatras

My intent was to educate would-be Floridians on the reliability (decrepit state) of the power grid in Florida and specifically Tampa.

you keep saying "in Florida"

yet you have pages of people posting all over Florida saying they don't have that problem at all

this is a problem specific to your area.....

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by Corrie22

you keep saying "in Florida"

yet you have pages of people posting all over Florida saying they don't have that problem at all

this is a problem specific to your area.....

Funny you should mention this. I was just looking this up. According to the DOE, "Over the past two decades, more Florida energy customers have experienced a power outage than those of any other state: over 900,000. In the last 20 years, Florida has had the most people per capita impacted by power outages — more than 900,000."

So actually, Florida has a problem keeping the power on in general. And it's not just about hurricanes. The No. 2 worst state in terms of power outages is Ohio.

In Tampa, it's actually equipment disrepair and outdated power infrastructure. I would argue that much of Florida has outdated power infrastructure.

All of these things are good info. for people looking to relocate to Florida, especially if those ppl plan to work from home.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by sinatras

From what I can tell, this "stuff doesn't happen" in other cities/states.

Power went out in Atlanta today for 3 hours.

It could be foreign hackers seeing how much disruption they can cause in our power grid...like China, N Korea, and Russia.

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by sinatras

Not sure how often the power goes out wherever you are coming from, but my power goes out in Tampa 6-8 times a year for no reason.............this does not happen anywhere else I have property or have lived. The outages always happen when there is no weather (no rain, no wind, just sunny) and get blamed on "equipment failure," "squirrels," "vegetation," etc. There is a certain tolerance for incompetence in Florida, and this is a perfect example.

If you work from home, or even if you enjoy having reliable electricity, do NOT move to Florida and especially not Tampa, where we have TECO. The WORST power company in the history of power companies.

Last night I had my 3rd outage of the year, and it's only (almost) April!

Mine goes out if a Gnat farts. Any kind of wind over 50mph and it's done for a day or more.