ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - Duke Energy Florida is working to improve the electric reliability in Pinellas County beach communities by proactively replacing a major underwater cable that carries electricity to the St. Pete Beach area.
"Reliability is a responsibility Duke Energy Florida takes very seriously," said Alex Glenn, state president, Duke Energy Florida. "We are replacing this underwater cable to ensure the St. Pete Beach community continues to receive reliable electricity for decades to come."
"With the completion of this project, we will have invested more than $25 million on a series of underwater cable replacements in Pinellas County over the past few years, improving reliability for several sections of St. Pete Beach and parts of Clearwater Beach and Treasure Island, including the Isle of Capri and the Isle of Palms."
A new underwater cable, carrying more than 7200 volts of electricity, will run under the Intercoastal Waterway along the south side of the Pinellas Bayway Road bridge from the Isla del Sol area to St. Pete Beach. The electric feeder will be housed in a 20-inch diameter conduit more than 3700 feet long.
Duke Energy workers and specialized contractors will work seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to complete the project in a timely manner. The company anticipates the work will be completed in mid-December. No service interruptions, noise issues or road closures are expected as part of this project.
The cost of the feeder replacement is approximately $2 million and will not affect customer rates.
In 2015, underwater cables serving Terra Verde to Pass-a-Grille, the Indian Rocks Beach area and the Placido Bayou neighborhood in St. Petersburg will also be replaced.
The utility serves more than 1.7 million customers in 35 Florida counties including approximately 524,000 business and residential customers in Pinellas County.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida owns coal-fired and natural gas generation. That diverse fuel mix provides about 9,000 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.7 million customers in a 20,000-square-mile service area.
Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States with approximately $115 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.2 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international energy business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.
Regionally headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com/Florida.