Without preference for location, the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations (KFHA) has gone on record asking that any new power lines expanding Florida Power and Light’s Turkey Point nuclear power plant go underground.
A resolution passed by ithe KFHA Board of Directors on June 7 also proposes that all FPL consumers pay for burying any new lines over a 10-year period, rather than having the cost borne only within the affected community area, as required by existing state statutes.
The KFHA resolution rejects any new lines that are not buried, saying “all utility and electrical power transmission lines must be properly installed underground” for reasons of health, safety, hurricane preparedness and aftermath, as well as “neighborhood preservation and safety.”
In addition, the document recommends that underground installation costs “must be borne by the entire FPL customer base with payment spread out over a 10-year period in the monthly bills of all FPL customers.”
According to the resolution, KFHA believes “undergrounding of transmission lines is of benefit to all of the customers of FPL, no matter where they live,” adding: “FPL’s proposal to have solely and only the immediately surrounding neighborhoods pay for the added cost of undergrounding… is unfair and a penalty to those surrounding neighborhoods…aimed at severely discouraging the undergrounding of those transmission lines.”
The statement concludes by recommending that whether an alternative corridor along SW 92nd Avenue in Kendall, as proposed by Pinecrest and Coral Gables city officials, or another is selected, it must have “properly installed underground (transmission lines) at the lowest cost.”
Currently, FPL’s application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposes two corridors for high voltage power lines:
• From Turkey Point north to the Davis Substation at 12701 SW 136th St., then east to S. Dixie Highway (US1) and north along US1 to downtown Miami.
• From Turkey Point west of Krome Avenue, then north to the Pennsuco substation at 10802 NW 107 Avenue.
The alternative route to US1 that would directly affect Kendall would erect new transmission lines within an approximate half-mile corridor along SW 92nd Avenue, north of the Davis Substation to a point that joins existing lines paralleling SW Eighth Street, thus avoiding US1 emplacements on S. Dixie Highway that have raised heated objections from city officials and residents of Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami and Coral Gables. Following a two-hour session on June 3 devoted to the topic, the KFHA board members acted to join Pinecrest, Coral Gables and South Miami by filing a statement representing Kendall area residents.
The statement will become part of a public response to be considered by an administrative law judge, part of a lengthy FPL Site Certification Process that must precede action by the governor and cabinet on the utility’s request to approve one of two corridors for any new transmission lines.
Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner recently told a Kendall audience that she believed the new power supply was unnecessary, asking residents to reject outright an estimated $18 to 20 billion development to be paid by consumers.
The schedule for continued public input on FPL’s application:
• Wednesday, July 17, 2-6 and 7-9 p.m., Keys Gate Golf and Country Club Banquet Hall, 2300 Palm Dr. in Homestead;
• Thursday, July 18, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Coral Gables Youth Center, 405 University Dr. in Coral Gables;
• Tuesday, July 23, 3-6 and 7-9 p.m., Miami Airport Convention Center Room MACC1, 711 NW 72 Ave.
• Thursday, July 25, 6:30-9 p.m., Miami Airport Convention Center, Room MACC1, 711 NW 72 Ave.
FPL should be required to pay for anything they build not their customers. I agree with Cindy Lerner that the development should be completely rejected.