Those massive poles going up alongside State Road 776 in Port Charlotte, El Jobean and throughout Englewood are part of a project to harden and improve Florida Power and Light's electric service lines in Charlotte and Sarasota counties.
The project is part of a continuous plan by FPL to prepare for the worst — meaning hurricanes. It is one of what Kamrel Eppinger, FPL spokesperson, said is among 58 projects planned for Charlotte County just this year.
The ongoing project along SR 776, which goes for 9 miles, is in the phase of setting poles and that is 75% completed. Haughland Group is contracted to do the work that is not expected to be finished until early summer 2027.
Eppinger said since 2019, FPL has completed or started 352 projects in Charlotte County and 168 in Sarasota County.
"We are taking a lot of overhead lines and putting them underground," Eppinger said as he outlined all the projects going on.
"One of the main causes of power outages are limbs from tree growth over lines and we have a vegetation managment program going on in neighborhoods throughout the county. We also are installing smart devices that can help reroute power in the case of outages."
Other lines are going high in the air attached to cement poles.
Eppinger said Thursday he has no timetable for when the work might be completed.
He did say the progress that stopped at the Myakka River and picked up on the other side would be finished with overhead lines across the river.
Work done by FPL so far includes:
• Strengthening 54 main power lines serving critical community services, including hospitals, police and fire stations.
• Inspected 124,844 power poles in the state for strength and upgrading or replacing any that don’t meet industry standards for strength. In 2026, 16,989 poles will be inspected as part of an eight-year inspection cycle.
• Installed 3,702 smart grid devices, including automated switches on main and neighborhood power lines to help detect and prevent power issues and get life back to normal faster if outages occur. In 2026, a total of four smart grid devices will be installed.
• Managed vegetation along 7,228 miles of power lines in the state. In 2026, vegetation will be maintained along 779 miles of power lines in our area.
• Inspected 184 main power lines using advanced infrared cameras that help detect and address potential problems. In 2026, 11 main power lines will be inspected.
Eppinger said lines have also been buried in DeSoto County.
All these projects will continue as FPL hopes to minimize any damage that could be caused by a major storm.
