Timeline for utilities undergrounding project remains far from concrete

An estimated timeline for completion of the undergrounding of Longboat Key's utilities is still up in the air. 

The original estimated completion date for the project was by the end of 2022. Now months into 2024, the lack of timeline specifics given at the March 25 workshop frustrated many town commissioners. 

Director of Public Works Isaac Brownman presented an update to commissioners at the meeting. Devaney Iglesias, regional external affairs area manager for Florida Power & Light, also attended the meeting. 

Wilco Electrical, LLC and FPL in June 2023 discovered an oversight that delayed progress for Phases 2, 3 and 4 of the project.

There were some existing underground transformers in those phases that the team thought would be compatible with the new underground system. But after opening them up, Wilco realized that new transformers would need to be installed. That, combined with supply chain issues, led to a delay. 

Wilco has received those new transformers now.  

Phase 2 of the project is nearing completion, with all new underground transformers energized. Wilco needs to get switching orders from FPL to complete riser drops into existing underground areas. 

The remaining phases have a significant number of riser drops. Risers are transitions between overhead and underground conductors. Overhead conductors need to be dropped to connect to the underground service. 

Crews with FPL’s demolition contractor, IRBY Construction Company, started removal of overhead wires and poles in Phase 2. 

Brownman said the project team estimated Phase 2 will be completed by the end of April. 

For Phase 3, Brownman said FPL and Wilco need to coordinate outages and final switch orders, and the goal is to complete transformer changeouts by the end of April. 

Switching orders for Phase 4 need to wait until Phase 2 is completed, due to the complexity of the system. That means the schedule for Phase 4 is still to be determined. 

Brownman said it would be difficult to estimate a schedule beyond the next month. 

“It’s very difficult to nail that down because everything is dependent on the thing that happens before it,” Brownman said. 

Pressure from commission

After Brownman’s presentation, the lack of specifics in the schedule left commissioners frustrated and with more questions.  

“It’s late in the game and it’s kind of time to put a stake in the ground and say, ‘this is when we’re going to get it done,’” Vice Mayor Mike Haycock said. “If you don’t, then you’ll have reasons why. I just think it’s real late to be saying TBD on a project that is 5 years old.” 

Haycock asked Brownman if he could come back with some timeline estimates for Phases 3 and 4. 

Mayor Ken Schneier suggested that having more incremental progress updates would be a good idea for commissioners and residents to wrap their heads around. For example, if there is a certain number of riser drops needed in an area, it would be good to know how many are completed. 

Utility companies are required to acquire easements to complete work on private property, and one is still required — Publix. Commissioner-At-Large BJ Bishop said that’s something that should have been done in year one or two of the project, not at the five-year mark.

“Bottom line, people don’t want to know ‘Phase 3 we may do this and switch that and try this and the transformers may or may not work.’ They want to know when it’s done, and when the stuff is out of here,” Bishop said. “So I need an answer.” 

After Brownman was still unable to give a timeline, Bishop questioned FPL’s commitment to the project. 

“I guarantee you that every resource has been dedicated,” Iglesias said. “From the FPL perspective, the priority has always been there. There’s been issues that have happened that were unforeseen, but we continue to work through them.”

One of those unforeseen circumstances was the flooding at the end of 2023 that caused the failure of transformers due to corrosion from saltwater flooding.

Iglesias assured commissioners that the underground transformers are state of the art, and that the issues experienced last storm season with the flooding were unprecedented. 

FPL has since ordered raised pads for the areas where transformers failed, which will be installed after the main undergrounding project is completed, according to Iglesias. 

That said, Iglesias said it would not be possible to set a hard deadline, but that FPL would work with Brownman and the rest of the project staff to get an estimated guess.

“We’re not wanting to put another timeline on (the project) because we're not wanting to disappoint you all,” Iglesias said. “We can’t commit to anything knowing what’s happened so far.” 

Iglesias also said she would return to a commission meeting soon with Project Manager Hau Tran, who was out of town for spring break at the time of the March 25 meeting. She also offered to have one-on-one meetings with commissioners.