HIALEAH, Fla. – Florida Power & Light crews were hard at work Wednesday as the company worked to strengthen South Florida's power grid.
"This helps us strengthen our system and improve reliability for our customers in good weather and during storms," FPL spokeswoman Florencia Contesse said.
A total of 240 primarily concrete power poles have been installed in Miami Springs, Miami Gardens and Virginia Gardens since last hurricane season, officials said.
FPL officials said this is all in an effort to strengthen the power grid in preparation for this year's hurricane season, which is less than three months away.
About 1,500 customers in Hialeah, which include elementary schools and police stations, will benefit from the poles that are designed to withstand 145 mph winds.
Following Hurricane Irma, power was cut to nearly 2 million customers in South Florida.
Officials said the upgrades will also help restore power following severe weather.
"Work like this, installing stronger poles that are designed to withstand heavy winds, helps us restore power faster toward customers or potentially avoid outages," Contesse said.
Homeowners in Miami Gardens sent Local 10 News video Tuesday of power lines sparking as high winds had branches coming in contact with power lines just feet behind homes.
"It is so important for us to all work together to trim trees and keep our lines clear of vegetation," Contesse said.
DOWNLOAD the Local 10 Weather App - iOS | Android
With the app, you will have the following data at your fingertips:
- Interactive Live Radar for your exact address
- Current conditions
- Daypart forecast
- 10-day forecast
- Live Local 10 news storm coverage
- Severe Weather Alerts