FPL is proving to be a great partner as they have listened to Miami Springs residents, council members, and city staff’s concerns over the unique character and nature of Miami Springs. At Monday’s FPL Workshop at the Senior Center, the FPL representatives announced that they are willing to scrap plans for installing the FPL transformers in the front yards of homes. Instead they agreed to install the ground transformers in the alleyways where applicable.
This says a lot about the FPL representatives and their ability to convince FPL upper management to customize the installations for Miami Springs. FPL basically said they would take the extra expense to re-engineer how they would move forward with Miami Springs installations. That change is both time consuming and very expensive.
Actions speak louder than words. Anyone can say they want to be a great partner, but FPL just proved it. They put their money where their mouth is and backed the plan to move the ground transformers in the alleyways where applicable. Obviously, homes on lakes or without alleyways won’t qualify.
Special Thanks!
This change would not have been possible if it weren’t for long time Miami Springs resident and former FPL employee, Art Vizcaino. Art single-handedly drove an awareness campaign bringing the issue up to neighbors, council members, and the media. Thanks to Art’s efforts, this was brought up before the City Council. To FPL’s credit, they were always responsible and willing to listen to the concerns of residents. Thanks to strong efforts from our city manager, J.C. Jimenez, backed by our city council, they were able to negotiate with FPL to get the changes the residents wanted. Furthermore, we can’t thank the FPL team for working internally to make this special change just for Miami Springs. This type of change rarely, if ever, happens.
Key Takeaways:
- FPL agrees to backyard / alleyway ground transformer installations
- Customers that agreed to a pending front yard installation can switch to a backyard / alleyway installation
- FPL will need a new backyard easement instead of a front yard easement
- FPL will give up its front yard easements once it has the new backyard easements
Questions
- What if I agreed to have a pending front yard installation?
Contact FPL immediately at <insert email address> - What area is FPL actively trying to move underground?
Northern bird section of Miami Springs. - Why can’t FPL install the transformers on the public easement? Why must it be on private property?
FPL doesn’t want to have infrastructure that could be in the way of future sidewalks, road drainage, or road expansion projects.
