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Res 41-96 RESOLUTION NO. 41-96 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, REQUESTING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE UNDERTAKE AN UNBIASED AND COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE TOTAL LIFE CYCLE COSTS OF OVERHEAD VERSUS UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC UTILITIES; REQUESTING THAT THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRAlqSITION FROM OVERHEAD TO UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC UTILITIES IN A FAIR AND EQUITABLE MANNER TO ALL BENEFITTED PARTIES BE CONSIDERED; FORWARDING A COPY OF SAID RESOLUTION TO THE PALM BEACH COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, THE FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES AND THE UNDERGROUNDERS, INC.; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, much interest has been generated in the installation and/or relocation of electric utilities from overhead to underground for reasons of health and safety, environment, disaster and storm damage mitigation, aesthetics and life cycle cost savings; and WHEREAS, weather-related costs to above ground utilities (including hurricanes, tropical storms, high winds and salt spray) are substantial with respect to damage, outages and inconvenience to residential and commercial customers; and WHEREAS, no independent, unbiased and comprehensive study has been performed comparing overhead and underground electrical utilities within the State of Florida; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, finds that specific actions would be beneficial to the residents of the City of Delray Beach. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, endorses and requests the State of Florida Legislature undertake an unbiased and comprehensive study of the total life cycle costs of overhead versus underground electric utilities including design, construction, maintenance, operations and all ancillary activities. Section 2. That the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach requests that the study committee be composed of engineers, economists, public administration professionals, local political leaders, sociologists, business persons, health professionals and environmentalists not associated with any electric utility or the Public Service Commission, to review and stu~ all aspects of this subject including any studies undertaken by the Legislature. Section 3. Since benefits accrue to the State, local governments, people in general and the utilities themselves, the distribution of costs associated with the transition from overhead to underground electric utilities should be allocated in a fair and equitable ma~er to all benefitted parties. Section 4. That the City Clerk of the City of Delray Beach is instructed to send a copy of this Resolution to the Palm Beach County Commission, the Florida League of Cities and The Undergrounders. Section 5. That this resolution shall take effect immediately upon passage. PASSED MD ~OPTED in regular session on this 21st of May 1996. ATTEST: City Cl~r~ - 2 Res. No. 41-96 CounW ~minlstmtlon September 11, 1996 RO. Box 1989 West Palm Beach, FL 33402-1989 Alison MacGregor Harty ($61)3~$-2030 city Clerk F~:(561)355-3982 City of Delray Beach 100 N. W. First Avenue Delray Beach, FL 33444 Dear Ms. Harty: This letter acknowledges receipt of Resolution No. 41- Palm s~c~ ~un~ 96, of the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach, ~a~of~un~ Florida, requesting the Florida legislature undertake ~mmissione~ an unbiased and comprehensive study of the total life KenL.~stenChmrman cycle costs of overhead versus underground electric utilities; requesting that the costs associated with Bu~Aaronson. ViceChairman the transition from overhead to underground electric ~renTMarcus utilities in a fair and equitable manner to all benefitted parties be considered; forwarding a copy of CarolA. Robe~s said Resolution to the Palm Beach County Board of WarrenH. Newel! Commissioners, the Florida League of Cities and the Undergrounders, Inc.; providing for an effective date. Ma~ McCa~ The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners Maude~rdLee officially received and filed your correspondence at the July 9th, 1996 Board meeting. A copy of your Resolution was sent to the Legislative Delegation. ~un~ A~dm~istm~r Robe~ Weism~, RE. Sincere ly, Agenda Coordinator cc: Legislative Delegation 'An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer" ~ printed on recycled paper Board of County Commissioners County Administrator Robert Weisman, P.E. Ken L. Foster, Chairman Burt Aaronson, Vice Chairman Karen T. Marcus Carol A. Roberts Warren H. Newell Mary McCarty Maude Ford Lee May 31, 1996 Ms. Alison MacGregor Harty City Clerk City of Delray Beach 100 N.W. 1st Avenue Delray Beach, Florida 33444 Dear Ms. Harty: This will acknowledge receipt of Resolution No. 41-96 adopted by the City Commission of Delray Beach May 21, 1996. Please be assured that I will arrange to have this document placed on the County Commission Agenda to be officially received and filed as soon as possible. Ke_k~J~C. ~o~ter, Chairman Palm Be~g~ County Commission, District 6 KLF/nes | C,_W CLEr "An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Act,'on Employer" printedon P.O. Box 1989 West Palm Beach, FL 33402-1989 (561) 355-2001 FAX: (561) 355-3990 recycled paper MEMORANDUM TO: MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSIONERS FROM: CITY MANAGER ~ SUBJECT: AGENDA ITEM # ~A - REGULAR MEETING OF MAY 21, 1996 RESOLUTION NO. 41-96 (OVERHEAD VERSUS UNDERGROUND UTILITIES) DATE: MAY 17, 1996 This is before the Commission to adopt Resolution No. 41-96 which requests the Florida Legislature undertake an objective study of the total life cycle costs of overhead versus underground electric utilities. We received a request to support this issue from The UndergrouDJers, Inc., a group of officials from a number of Florida communities who are interested in the idea of replacingurban overhead withundergroundpower distribution. The resolution endorses a study to review all aspects of the subject, including design, construction, maintenance, operations, as well as an equitable distribution of costs associated with such a transition among all benefitted parties. It further requests t_hat the study committee be composed of engineers, economists, public administration professionals, local political leaders, sociologists, business persons, health professionals and environmentalists not associated with any electric utility or the Public Service Commission. An article entitled "Benefits of Urban Underground Power Delivery" from the Spring 1996 issue of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) TechnoloQ7 and Society Magazine is provided for your review. Recommend approval of Resolution No. 41-96. ref:agmemo9 The Undergrounders, Inc. 408 6th Ave. N. Tierra Verde, FL 33715 635 Chesser Rd, DeFuniak Springs, FL ~"-,, 813-864-9966 32433 904-892- 6344 · Charles McCool, City Manager Daytona Beach Shores, FL 32118 Treasurer, 904 322 5000 Members of the Board Harold Radcliffe, Mayor, N. Redington Beach, FI, 33708, Chairman Nancy Ciummo, City Manager Brad Baker, Solar Systems Engrg. Golden Beach, FL 33160 Port Orange, FL 32119 Deborah Evans, Wellington, FL 33414 Nancy Flemming, Sue Huffman, Oldsmar, FL 34677 Citizens for Responsible Power, Paul Deutschlander, Trenton, FL 32693 Tampa, FL. 33624 25 March 1996 Mr. David T. Harden, Oity Manager City of Delray Beach 100 N.W. 1 st Ave.. Delray Beach, FL 33444-2698 Dear Mr. Harden; Please accept the enclosed article with our compliments. The need for safer urban electric power delivery is becoming more apparent daily and the only way we can get it at a fair price is through legislative action. The Undergrounders are trying to get a large number of cities to pass resolutions urging an objective study be made of the i~l~e. Please read the enclosed Resolution and consider passing a similar one in your city. If we all work together, we can win. Sincerely, Tom Maney, PE Vice President Benefits of Urban Underground Power Delivery Hurricane Opal, a Category 3 storm, struck the Florida Panhandle on October 4, 1995. Several hundred thousand people in three counties were without power, some for several weeks. H istorically, the standard procedure forcethe use of underground systems, orunless, adopted by electrical utility companies in the case of the more affluent housing devel- m~l has been to use overhead lines for urban opments, the citizens therein pay the extra costs areas for all voltages, unless economic reasons associated with underground installations. In most analyses comparing the two concepts, it C. Thomas Maney, P.E., is a retired Profes- has been customary to consider only the direct sor of Electrical Engineering at the University costs to the utility companies, i.e., investment, of Kentucky and also a retired senior systems maintenance, operations, etc. However, if corn- analyst for the USAF. He is Vice President of the munity costs were considered as well, the para- Florida Undergrounders, Inc. He can be digm for urban power delivery quite likely reached at 635 Chesser Rd., RFD 6, DeFuniak would shift to underground service for all urban Springs, FL, 32433. lines, transmission and distribution. 0278-6079/96/S5.00~1996IEEE IEEE Technology and Sociefy Magazine, Spr/ng 1996 Interest in Underground Delivery Most of these groups are based on public appre- hension concerning the perceived and possibly During 1981-1989, when I served first as a real adverse health effects from electromagnetic member of the Fort Walton Beach, FL, planning fields along with the recognized effects on prop- board, and later as a member of the city council, erty devaluation associated with nearby over- I often heard comments from the public regard- head urban power lines. lng the desirability of having power lines placed A few examples of the citizen organizations underground. Also, while serving as a council- dedicated to obtaining safer power delivery man, I often heard comments from other munici- through undergrounding include The Electro- pal officials at League of Cities meetings on the magnetic Radiation Alliance (national and inter- same subject. As a result of these frequent com- national), Citizens Opposed to Unsafe Power ments, and due to my background in electrical (PA), Alliance to Limit Electromagnetic Radia- engineering and systems analysis, I was asked tion Today (CT), Coalition for Safe Electric by the the city council to investigate the concept. Power (VA), Parents Against an Unsafe Envi- This request led to a review of the prevailing ronment (PA), Michigan Safe Energy Fund attitudes by the three utilities using wires or cables (power, telephone, and television) as well (MI), Concerned Citizens for Power Line Safety as the prevalent attitudes in the fifty states. It (FL), Citizens for Power Lines Underground further led to the formation of"The Undergroun- ders," a group of officials from a number of Florida communities who were also interested in the idea of replacing urban overhead (OH) with underground (,O)power distribution. Costs to the public for loss During 1987 and 1988, this group worked with the Florida Legislature and succeeded in of life due to electrocution causing the legislature to require the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC)to conduct and¥ hid -pob a full systems analysis into the cost effectiveness comparison of OH and UG. That study, how- iffifi ever, was limited to the pros and cons of OH are s.,n cant. versus UG power delivery at distribution voltage levels, because it was "assumed" by the FPSC staff that no transmission level voltage line could be made cost effective if placed underground. It was also observed that since the telephone indus- (NY), Indiana Families United for Safe Energy, try was voluntarily converting to underground Neighbors Opposing Power Encroachment cable and the television industry was converting (WA), Customer Advisory Panel on Under- to satellite signal delivery, their inclusion was grounding (WA), Rhode Islanders for Safe deemed irrelevant. Power, Residents Against Giant Power (NJ), Virginia Residents Against Giant Electric, Mas- Growing Demand ter Planning for Power Committee (UT), The Princeton Citizens Coalition on EMF (NJ), and The current situation regarding electric The Undergrounders (FL). A few of these or- power delivery in almost all urban areas in ganizations have met with success, but by and the U.S. is that it is customary for most trans- large their efforts to date have been rather futile. mission and subtransmission lines to be in- The advances in technology referred to are stalled overhead. Distribution lines are also discussed at length in a 1994 issue of the generally overhead, except in high-density Electric Power Research Institute Journal, commercial and some residential areas. In which concludes that "many utilities expect many locations, however, utility companies that by the year 2000 virtually all of their offer underground laterals to individual cus- distribution construction -- whether new or tomers. The basic paradigm of overhead de- replacement circuits -- will be underground" livery may be about to change, however, as growing public demand, coupled with ad- [1]. The reasons for this expected change vances in technology are together generating include the development of very high quality a major push toward having all urban electric and relatively low-cost dry-cured cross- power delivered underground, linked polyethylene cable, improved tech- The growing public demand is seen from the niques for locating underground faults [2], formation of numerous citizen activist groups and major advances in laying cable, such as organized throughout the nation in opposition to the well-known direct burial horizontal bor- existing or proposed new overhead power lines, lng system. ~13/ IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Spring 1996 Hurrican Erin, barely a Category 1 storm, knocked down many trees and overhead lines in the Fort Walton Beach, FL, area in August 1995. Current Policy no competition within the industry itself to cause Utility companies are no different from other such change. Yet another reason the utility companies are corporations in that they consider their near- somewhat reluctant to change parallels the situ- term profits to be of primary importance in sat- ation which still exists to this day in the tobacco isfying their stockholders. Overhead urban lines industry. It is well known that in a recent public are superior from this point of view. Overhead hearing in the U.S. Congress the chief execu- lines are easy to install and maintain. Moreover, fives of each of the major tobacco companies costs for recovery from storm damages can be stated that they believed that tobacco was neither routinely passed on to the public. The technol- addictive nor carcinogenic, in spite of numerous ogy required for customary power delivery with medical tests and statistics that had indicated overhead lines has been in place for many dec- otherwise. The parallel between that testimony ados. The lines are simply bare wire with ce- and the electric power industry's position is that ramic insulators at poles and air as insulation even though the utility companies are all aware between poles, of the relative safety data for underground and Underground lines, on the other hand, must overhead systems, they never discuss it in public be carefully insulated, and also must carry the because common sense says that if a corporate extra burden of heat dissipation. The heat trans- official were ever to make a public admission for problem has two disadvantages. First, the that his company's product delivery method was operating engineers must be much more careful not sufficiently safe, he would be subjecting his in designing for temporary overloads. If bare company to much litigation. wires on overhead systems carry excess current, they simply heat up and sag. If, on the other Cost Factors hand, an underground cable becomes over- heated, a short circuit could result from insula- Historically, power companies have consid- tion failure. The second disadvantage is that ered only the usual corporate costs (investment, utility engineers must make use of a higher level operations, maintenance, etc.) for determining of engineering skill in designing underground the cost to deliver power to a community. How- systems due to the heat transfer problem for ever, it is becoming increasingly evident that a continuous loading, total system approach to costing is far more Another reason utility companies are reluc- appropriate. In other words, the total cost to the rant to change from their current model of over- community for power delivery is the more rea- head lines except for special cases is that there sonable and sensible way to determine which is no legal requirement for any utility company method of power delivery is used. After all, it is to consider so-called societal costs, and there is the community that pays for the power delivery. IEEE Technology and Sociel~ Magazine, Spring 1996 Costs to the public for loss of life due to ing property values [16]-[17]. If it tums out that electrocution and vehicle-pole accidents are sig- the cancer "clusters" near power lines in many nificant and may be considered to be as much as cities are in fact not coincidental but are actually 3 to 5 million dollars per life lost according to caused by some element in the magnetic fields the National Safety Council [3]. (The Talla- ofpowerlines, then the costs to society for living hassee Democrat newspaper on July 15, 1990, or working near power lines will be so high as to printed an Associated Press article addressing force drastic corrective action. In this regard, it this issue. This article asserted that the U.S. is noted that basic electrical theory tells us that Consumer Product Safety Commission valued a external magnetic fields will be reduced very human life at $2 million but the Environmental significantly if power delivery is made under- Protection Agency put the value at $8 million, ground simply due to the very close proximity The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, however, of the conductors in the cables. Moreover, if one uses $5 million.) Regardless of what figure is were to make use of ferrous conduit material, the used, it is clear that the societal costs for loss of external fields would, of course, be reduced still human life are a very real part of the total cost of further. power delivery and should be minimized for the Careful attention to designing ground return benefit of all. circuits such that the earth return is minimized The costs to the public for power outages and and ground wire return is maximized will reduce power surges should also be included in any the external magnetic field even more. assessment of power delivery costs [4]-[9]. In other words, reliable and affordable tech- However, the articles and reports in [4]- [9] deal nology for all urban underground power delivery only with the "willingness to pay approach." is here (at up to 345 kV or more). None addresses more than relatively short inter- ruptions, ranging from momentary up to several Societal Costs: hours. Costs for brief interruptions usually have been stated in terms of dollars per kilowatt-hour Accidental Deaths and Injuries not sold and range from a few dollars up to The most important societal cost of overhead several tens of dollars per unit. electric power delivery is the very significant This measure, however useful, has two major difference in numbers of accidental electrocu- drawbacks. First, the impact of electrical voltage tions per mile of wire per year compared to surges and dips, though trivial in terms of "kilo- underground power delivery systems. Tragic ac- watt-hours not sold," may be very significant in cidents occur during a variety of situations, e.g., terms of damage to electrical equipment, lost kite flying, tree trimming, or sailboat launching, computer memories, etc. The second drawback as well as in the use of construction machinery, is that the method does not lend itself to estimat- etc. lng the costs of long-term outages caused by Data from two states illustrate this issue. Data weather and other natural phenomena. Data is were made available through the systems studies included here on long-duration outages, and done by the Florida Public Service Commission though these extended several days (even out- staff in 1988-1990 and in a letter to the author ages lasting for several weeks occur at irregular dated Oct. 3, 1994, from the FPSC. The data intervals), they occur sufficiently often so that address the four large investor owned utilities in costs to the public for these outages should be the state (see Table I). In terms ofrelative safety, addressed. (Note that the author has found no the data show 57.73 times more fatalities asso- studies in the literature which address the costs ciated with OH contact than with UG contact on to the public for extended outages.) A moment a per-mile basis. of reflection suggests that the costs associated For the case of another state's record, con- with long-term outages may well tend to rise sider California. The California Public Utilities exponentiallywiththedurationoftheoutagedue Commission staff was asked in 1987, 1988, and to food spoilage, water, sewer systems becoming again in 1994 to furnish data. The Commission inoperative, etc. staff provided the figures shown in Table II [38]. Another factor which should be included is These data show 21.99 times as many people the increasingly publicized fear of the possible killed contacting OH lines as compared with UG linkage between proximity to electric power lines on a per-mile basis. lines and cancer. The "jury is still out" concern- The data for the two states should obviously ing whether or not exposure to pulsating mag- not be directly compared as their baseline peri- netic fields causes cancer. Many referenced ods of comparison are different and the two do studies show a significant correlation between not include all of the same types of accidents. It cancer incidence and exposure; however, others is valid to say, however, that no matter how the do not [10]-[15]. A corollary to this real fear is data are analyzed, it is apparent that under- the impact adjacent power lines have on reduc- ground lines are far safer than are overhead lines. Table I PERIOD TOTAL FATALITIES AVG. DEATHS PER YEAR TYPE OF SERVICE 1981-1993 153 12.75 OH: 65 524 mi 1981-1993 1 0.08 UG: 23 807 mi Avg. annual deaths per mile: OH: 0.000194, UG: 0.00000336 Relative Safety: 57.73 times as many fatalities for people contacting OH compared with UG Note 1. Mileage data are taken for 1991; hence the per mile data are approximate. Note 2. These data do not include either employee accidents or vehicle/pole accidents. Dudng the reporting period, these same utilities reported the deaths of five of their employees who were working on overhead lines and zero deaths of employees who were working on underground systems. In addition to these deaths, the Florida DOT accident data as analyzed by the PSC staff in 1989 showed an average of 27 deaths per year for vehicles striking poles in urban areas but none for vehicles striking undergrou~ding transformers. Table II PERIOD TOTAL FATALITIES AVG. DEATHS PER YEAR TYPE OF SERVICE 1988 44 44 OH: 322 100 mi 1989-1993 143 28.6 OH: 402 625 mi 6 year avg.: 31.16, OH 362 000 avg. mi. Average annual deaths per mile: 0.0000860 PERIOD TOTAL FATALITIES AVG. DEATHS PER YEAR TYPE OF SERVICE 1988 3 3 UG: 189 000 mi 1989-1993 2 0.4 UG: 237 125 mi 6 year avg.: 0.833, UG 213 000 avg. mi. Average annual deaths per mile: 0.0000039 Relative Safety: 22 times as many people killed in contacting OH lines compared with UG lines on a per mile basis. Note: The California data include all fatalities, public contact, vehicle pole impacts, and employee accidents. Note that most states have in their statutes specific application is beyond the scope of the concerning electric utilities the stipulation that National Electrical Safety Code Committee." utility facilities built in conformance with the The above figures do not include any of the National Electrical Safety Code shall be deemed costs associated with injuries (many of which adequately safe for the general public. What is required hospitalization) nor do they include any not generally known, however, is that the regu- property damage estimates. In this regard, per- lation responsible for the safety of electrical haps one anecdotal example will suffice to illus- equipment, wiring, etc., for the public is the trate the nature of the losses involved in a National Electrical Code. The National Electri- vehicle-pole accident. cal Safety Code is unrelated to the former and is According to Okaloosa County, FL, police used solely for establishing safe construction records, on September 24, 1994, a vehicle-pole and maintenance procedures for utility compa- impact occurred in Shalimar, FL [18]. The iro- nies. A letter to the author from the Secretary of pact not only demolished the automobile and the National Electrical Safety Code Committee, sent the driver to the hospital, but the trans- dated Sept. 8, 1987, included the statement, "A former on the pole shorted, causing a mainframe judgment as to which type of construction OH computer in a nearby building to be damaged or UG will provide maximum public safety in a beyond repair. This required the purchase of a IEEE Technology and Seciely Magazine, Spring 1996 new computer. In addition, the cost of the loss of Industrial customers on transmission lines stored information and loss of employee work did not have long outages. Others on major time was considerable. If these ancillary but very feeders got back in service before residen- major costs were to be included in the costs of rial customers. Some Charlotte residential accidents involving vehicles and poles, the rela- customers were without power for almost rive safety of underground to overhead would one month. become even more apparent. There was a lot of food spoilage in gro- cery stores, food stores, restaurants, mo- Storm Losses tels, etc., due to the storm. There were also problems with food supplies, water sup- Weather is a cause of many serious losses of plies, and sewers not being available [26]. life and property as it particularly affects electric power systems in urban areas. Let us first look The North Carolina PSC also reported that on at some reported effects of ice, sleet, and other September 22, the day Hugo went through the storms. According to reports in the NW Florida state, a total of approximately 850 000 custom- Daily News, in the summer of 1994, tropical ers lost power. A full week later, 271 000 cus- storm Alberto that went through Northwest Flor- tamers were still without electricity. Power was ida left more than 1800 customers without power essentially restored by October 10. andmanyofthosewereoutforseveraldays[19]. One of the worst recent hurricanes to hit Moreover, just for the twelve months ending in Florida was Hurricane Andrew in 1992. To gain March 1994, the Richmond, VA, Times Dis- information regarding the extent of damage patch reported that Virginia suffered five done by this storm, the FPSC requested that the storms, each of which knocked out power for Florida Power and Light Corporation evaluate hundreds of thousands of customers for weeks at that situation. The corporation reported that a time [20]-[24]. prior to Hurricane Andrew on August 22, 1992, in Dade County, FL, there were 5453 overhead Specifically noted in the Times Dispatch was that these extended outages in Virginia caused pole miles in service and 3242 trench miles of 44 000 customers to lose power in the March 15, cable including both distribution and transmis- 1993, storm; 60 000 during the June 4, 1993, sion systems [27]. storm; 20 000 in the storm of August 22, 1993; As a direct result of Hurricane Andrew, 114 273 000 in the storm of February 12, 1994; and milesor3% oftheircablehadtobereplaced, and 180 000 in the storm of March 2-3, 1994. 3349 miles or 61% of their overhead line had to The record for resistance to hurricane damage be replaced. These figures coupled with the re- is just as bad if not worse. When the Category 3 cord of OH versus UG during Hurricane Hugo Hurricane Hugo tore through the Carolinas in clearly show the superior survivability of under- 1989, the damage due to downed power lines was ground systems. extensive through both states and included trans- After Hurricane Andrew, initially 1.4 million mission lines as well as distribution lines [25]. It customers were without power. Local newspa- was noted, however, that South Carolina Electric pers reported that two weeks later 97 000 were company responded to the Florida PSC informa- still without power and 35 days were required tion request that their initial count of customers for Florida Power and Light to restore power to without power was 273 000. After five days of the last neighborhood able to receive power [28]. cleanup there were still 138 000 customers with- Though no hurricanes hit Florida in 1993, a out power. After ten days of cleanup, 55 000 freak winter storm did manage to leave several were still without power. Power was not restored million people without power for an extended to all customers whose facilities could accept period. The Electric Utili7 Weekly [Mar. 22, power eighteenth day. report 1993, p. 13] as until the The also summarized this situation fol- stated that "they had relatively little problem lows: with their underground system." Though the to- tal power delivery system repair costs ran into A winter storm that spawned tornadoes the hundreds of millions of dollars, the relative in Florida before dumping deep snow survival and costs of overhead and underground from Carolinas to Maine resulted in more than 3.5 million electricity customers los- systems was not well documented, at least for the public record, ing power from high winds damaging North Carolina was also hit very hard by power lines. Hurricane Hugo. According to the North Caro- The hardest hit area was Florida's west lina PSC: coast, with winds gusting to nearly 100 mph when the storm hit late on March 12. Commercial and industrial customers By March 13, 1,238,540 electric custom- were considerably affected by Hurricane ers, or about 3.1 million people, had been ~---- 4 Hugo, in addition to residential customers, knocked out of service, according to the IEEE Technology and Society ~gazine, Spring 1996 Florida PSC. Because of the high winds, sissippi a few days earlier. The Associated Press which continued through March 14, utili- wire story included the following: ties were unable to use helicopters to lo- cate downed lines and repair crews could Five days after an ice storm robbed an not use aerial buckets to reconnect lines, estimated 80,000 Mississippi Power and Light customers of electricity, about Obviously, though not yet quantified in the 10,000 were still without power late Fri- literature, the economic losses to the affected day. communities for extended power outages is ma- jor, especially when one considers that extended The significance of the time of year when this outages can cause businesses to go bankrupt and storm occurred is evident by the following para- residents to go into debt for long-term motel and graph in the same news story: restaurant living far from home. Most highs statewide were only in the The weather in 1995 was a near record year 30's for most of the week and lows were for hurricanes. By early November, some nine- in the 20's with wind chill factors in the teen storms had reached hurricane status in the teens. Temperatures Saturday warmed up Gulf and Atlantic. Two of these storms, Erin and into the 50's and 60's. Opal, hit Florida. Erin, a Category I storm, hit Florida twice in August, initially crossing the Storms such as these have devastating effects central portion of the state on August 2 and later on overhead power delivery systems and they on August 3 hitting the Panhandle. Each impact occur all over the nation. The most recent storm caused hundreds of thousands of persons to be up to this writing is the storm which swept in to without power for several days [29]. Seattle, WA, on November 17, 1995. According On October 4, 1995, Hurricane Opal, a Cate- totheSeattleTimesofNov. 18andl9, thatstorm gory 3 storm, hit the same area of the Panhandle put 100 000 customers out of power initially and that Erin had struck. Damage was in the hun- 20 000 were still out more than 24 hours later. dreds of millions of dollars [30]. Two utilities serve the area, Choctawhatchee Electric Co-op Other Weather-Related Problems (CHELCO) and Gulf Power Inc. CHELCO lost all 26 512 of its customers, and though 15 283 Another example of weather-related prob- were restored power within three days, 1240 lems that cause severe distress to the public is were without power for a week or more [31]. due to salt spray corrosion (causing fallen live Gulf Power reported that immediately after the lines and short circuits) in densely populated storm, 260 000 of their customers were without coastal areas. The St. Petersburg Times for Feb. power. After three days, however, they had 21, 1991, reported the following incident: power back on to all but 6000. Both firms A 30 year old Canadian man was killed achieved this rapid recovery for most of their and five cars were burned when an electrical customers with the help of overtime work by power line fell to the ground Saturday morn- hundreds of line crews from nearby states. As of ing near a vacation complex. this writing, neither CHELCO nor Gulf have The man was struck as he tried to move reported on the relative survivability of their his car to a safer location, officials said. overhead and underground systems. Gulf A spokeswoman for Florida Power said Power, however, reported that neither overhead unusually high levels of salt spray on the nor underground systems survived in the narrow power line are thought to have caused sparks beach front area which bore the brunt of the that arced and burned the crossarm holding 12-15-ft storm surge [32]. In this regard, I, as a up the line, which carries 7,200 volts. resident of this area, also noted that none of the "Although salt buildups have been conventional utility services survived in the noted throughout the county, there is no storm surge area. Even water and sewer lines cause for alarm", said Karen Raihill, the were broken, collapsed, or filled with sand. power company spokeswoman. Another interesting fact that was readily ap- "People are not in imminent danger," parent to local residents was that many of the Ms. Raihill said, "This was a highly un- people who lived inland and suffered relatively usual set of circumstances." little damage to their homes had to endure ex- tended power outages lasting up to a week. Whether or not this occurrence of fallen live Even smaller storms can and do wreak havoc wires is rare or not may be in the eyes of the with overhead utility lines. Though this sort of beholder. Though this condition is viewed as a event occurs many times each year, one example serious problem to the community, it apparently will illustrate the problem. Written up in the/WW is not viewed as serious by the utility. Consider Florida Daily News for Feb. 12, 1989, was a the following situation which resulted from the story about an ice storm that went through Mis- occurrence of a number of these "wire downs." In December 1991, in response to a formal pany had to make emergency power buys complaint registered with the FPSC by the town from the Southern Company. of Golden Beach, FL, which was concerned by The salt contamination caused most "excessive wire-downs," the Florida Power and damage to equipment in the Tampa Bay Light Company presented the following infor- area, where more than 21 000 customers mation to the Florida PSC in their defense of this were out for sustained periods and tens of charge (Docket 90081-E-1, p. 14): thousands more lost power for up to an hour. ...according to Exhibit 20, the number of 'wire downs' which were fallen electri- cal conductors (live), during the almost Ughtnlng Surges four year period covered was thirteen. In addition to storms and salt spray, other Of the thirteen incidents of fallen con- weather factors also affect utility lines. Probably ductors, nine occurred on the east side, and one of the more onerous problems caused by six of these were on a section of "tree" wire located from 101 Ocean Drive to 335 weather is that of voltage surges and dips result- Ocean Drive. Of the four that occurred on ing from nearby lightning strikes. The relative the west side, each occurred in a different effect of those occurrences on equipment served year in a different area. The one wire down by overhead and underground lines was dis- a year on the west side of golden Beach cussed in a paper prepared by the Navy compar- covering approximately 3.25 miles is not ing failure rates of computer equipment at ten indicative of a chronic problem. The ap- sites in Washington, DC, Norfolk, VA, and Charleston, SC [33]. They averaged 20 electrical proximately two "wire-downs" on the one mile stretch of conductor serving the east surge caused failures per year on computers side of Golden Beach should have merited served by OH lines and 14 surge caused failures special consideration, on computers served by UG cables. Because of this case, Florida Power and Light is in the process of modifying its Environmental Damage data base to track "wire-downs" to iden- In addition to the factors discussed in the tify abnormal conditions so that they can be investigated, previous paragraphs, the conversion to under- ground urban lines would trigger a major reduc- Note that no corrective action was promised, tion in the use of millions of wood poles. This It is also useful to note the perspective from issue is significant as poles are treated with the industry point of view on a larger view of the highly toxic chemicals which leach into the same salt spray problem. (Salt spray will accu- ground and then into the food chain. According mulate on insulators and wires near coastal areas to an article by biologists Judith and Peddick under the influence of sea breezes.) This prob- Weis, poles used on dry land are treated with 0.4 leto is, of course, unique to overhead systems, lb/ft3 of CrO3, CuO, and As2Os, and poles Consider the following four paragraphs from the designed for marine use receive 1.5-2.5 lb/ft3 of Electric Utility Weekly of Mar. 29, 1993: these chemicals [34]. With millions of poles in Just as Florida utilities were getting each state, it is not difficult to visualize how systems back on line after the March 12- many tons of these toxins are leaching into the 14 (1993) storm that blacked out 1.2 mil- ground yearly. lion customers, salt contamination last Not only are the poles themselves a source of week shut down plants and lines on the toxic materials, but pole treatment plants consti- state's west coast, tute an even more critical problem due to the The problem occurred after high winds concentration of toxic materials used in process- from the storm carried salt spray from the ing. The Florida DER staff reported to the FPSC Gulf of Mexico inland coating electrical staff that there are 18 pole treatment sites in connections and insulators. When it dried, Florida, four of which are on the U.S. Superfund the salt remained. Then on March 17-18, toxic site cleanup list. These sites have contami- a light misty rain wetted the salt, and arc- hated over 20 public and private wells including ing resulted. Utilities had to pressure wash the main well field of the City of Miami. In the equipment before restoring service, addition, these sites have contaminated portions At the peak of the problem March 18, of surface waters in Pensacola Bay, Bayou all five units at Florida Power' s 3,000 MW Chico, Hogtown Creek, St. Johns River, and the Crystal River Plant -- half its capacity -- Peace River [35]. were out of service, two for scheduled The ultimate effect these bioaccumulating maintenance and three tripped because of carcinogenic and mutagenic compounds have on salt contamination. Florida Power corn- our food chain is left to others to determine. IEEE Technology and Society Moga?ine, Spring 1996 Property Devaluation ject to the influence of overhead high voltage There are two fundamental factors affecting power lines" [16]. The article further notes that property values insofar as power lines are con- this negative impact on property values is a cerned. First, and the factor which has generated rather recent phenomenon as the "preponder- the most public interest in recent years, is the ance of research dating from the mid-50's to the devaluation resulting from the perceived ad- late 1980's found no or negligible impact on verse health impact on nearby residents through property values from power lines." exposure to power line generated magnetic The second type of adverse effect the pres- ence of nearby power lines has on property fields. Second, is the devaluation imposed by lending agencies in being reluctant to provide values is that which is caused by fallen poles and live wires. These situations are common in hur- mortgages for property that has buildings on which poles or lines could fall. ricanes and involve both transmission and distri- bution poles. As has been previously noted, the The issue of magnetic field exposure, com- monly termed "EMF" exposure, and the result- fallen live wire problem also occurs in coastal ing possible adverse health effects and property areas where salt spray is common. In recognition devaluation, is a very unsettling and controver- of the adverse effects nearby power lines can sial subject. A paper by Swedish investigators have on property values, the U.S. Department of Feychting and Ahlbom in 1992 showed a signifi- Housing and Urban Development several years cant elevation of cancer rates for persons living ago directed "All Members of the Fee Appraiser in close proximity to power lines [36]. Since Panel" that paragraph 4-24 of Rule 4150.1 then there have been many studies, most of headed "Overhead High Voltage Transmission which support the findings of the Swedish study Lines" be revised to read in part that: but some of which are contrary. At present, All dwellings and related property im- however, the evidence tends to be predomio provements (such as garages and swim- nantly on the side of affirming that the danger ming pools) shall be located at a safe does in fact exist. Dr. David O. Carpenter, M.D., distance from overhead electric transmis- Dean of the School of Public Health at the Uni- sion lines. versity of New York at Albany has concluded, "On the basis of the present evidence only the What this has meant in FHA implementation most obstinate can deny that there is adequate is that any property which lies within the fall cause for concern and an urgent need for addi- distance of such lines and poles is not eligible tional study ... I ... strongly advise people to for FHA mortgage insurance. Obviously, this reduce their exposure to magnetic fields" [ 10]. factor has a very significant negative effect on What has resulted from these studies along property resale value for those affected proper- with the continuing debate is the emergence of ties. the concept of "prudent avoidance" or trying to What is the sum and substance of all of these limit public magnetic field exposures from factors? In brief, all the criteria for major change power lines to 2 mG, has been met and therefore the change could Rationale f or the 2 mG figure stems from the come rapidly. The need is apparent as is the findings in the Swedish study that elevated can- solution. The problem is how to reach the solu- cer risks were not found at levels of exposure at tion. or below 2 mG. The significance of this figure for this analysis is that it is relatively easy to Attempts to Obtain Action: reduce urban public power line exposure to this Political Approach level if underground cables are used. It may be many years before the true causal Probably the first group to recognize this factors for the so-called cancer clusters near confluence of need and solution on a statewide power lines are discovered. In the meantime, the basis was the Florida Undergrounders, a small burial of lines would at least represent a good group of dedicated public officials and private faith effort to minimize the problem. Moreover, citizens who were and are very concerned about this action would tend to defuse the issue of the excessive number of deaths and injuries as- devaluating property values near power lines, sociated with overhead power lines and with the The decline in property values near power other factors discussed in this article. Thisgroup, lines has been quantified in an article by Delaney back in 1989 and 1990, petitioned the Florida and Timmons which states that property apprais- Legislature to require an objective total system ers "report that power lines can affect residential study of the relative costs and benefits of over- property values to varying degrees under certain head and underground urban power delivery. circumstances and that the market value of these This approach was selected because, due to the properties is, on average, 10.01% lower than the monopolistic nature of the electric power indus- market value for comparable properties not sub- try, there are no competitive forces which could IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Spring 1996 benefits for undergrounding in certain residen- [12] "Assessment of children's long term exposure to magnetic fields," EPRI Tech. Rep. 101407s, Dec. 1992. tial areas. [13] E.S. Cassedy, "Health risk valuations based on public consent," IEEE Technol. & Soc. Mag., Wint. 1992/1993. [14] M. Feychting and A. Ahlborn, "Magnetic fields and cancer in Clear and Distinct Advantages children residing near Swedish high voltage lines," Amer. J. Epidemiol., vol. 138, no. 7, Oct. 1993. From the community point of view, there are [15] D. Savitz and C. Ananth, "Residentiai magnetic fields, wire clear and distinct advantages in having all urban co,es, and pregnancy outcome," Bioelectromagnetics, vol. 18, pp. 271-273, 1994. power lines underground. Utility companies, ap- 116] c. Delane and D. Timmons, "High voltage power lines: Do they crating in a regulated monopoly status, basically affect residential property value?" J. Real Estate Res., vol. 7, Sum. 1992. have no incentive to accommodate the public in [17] "Criscuola vs. Power Authority of the State of NY," NY Court the matters discussed. In general, citizen groups of Appeals Ruling, Oct. 12, 1993. have been unsuccessful in working directly with [181 Okaloosa County, FL, Clerk/Police Rep. Memo., Oct. I h 1994. [ 19] Front page articles, NW Florida Daily News, July 1-7, 1994. the utility companies, though some success has [201 Front page articles, Richmond Times Dispatch, Mar. 16, 1993. been achieved through court action [16]. More- [211 Front page articles, Richmond Times Dispatch, June 5, 1993. [22] Front page articles, Richmond Times Dispatch, Aug. 20, 1993. over, the limited attempt to generate a successful [23] Front page articles, Richmond Times Dispatch, Feb. 13, 1994. forcing action through the legislative process [24] Front page articles, Richmond Times Dispatch, Mar. 4, 1994. was unsuccessful except that the effort provided 1251 Message from SCE&G to FPSC staff during FPSC OH vs UG Study 1989-1991 (Rep. on Cost Effectivaness of Underground Elec- a large amount of data that had heretofore been tric Distribution Facilities). unavailable for analysis. The problems remain, [261 Message from NC PSC staff to [cPSC staff during FPSC OH vs however, and the public seems to be becoming ua Study 1989-1991. [27] Hurricane Andrew Data Request Response, FPL Rep., Oct. 20, increasingly aware of them. 1992. The undergrounding of urban power lines as I281 Multiple stories, The Miami Herald, Aug. 22-Sept. 15, 1992. a national policy would generate very significant [29] Multiple stories, NW Florida Daily News, Aug. 1995. [30] Multiple stories, NWFlorida DailyNews, Oct. 1995. benefits to the public. These benefits are such [31] Letter to author from CHELCO (L.I. Timbrook, V.P.),Nov. 20, that in-depth studies to quantify the cost-benefits 1995. [32] Letter to author from Gulf Power Co. (W. Pope, Bulk Power and for the development of logical methods for Planning), Nov. l, 1995. COSt sharing are needed. [33] U.S. Navy, "Comparison of computer failures for OI-I/UG sys- tems,'' IEEE Trans. Ind. App., vol lA-15, July/Aug 1985. The utility companies have no incentive to [341 I. and P. Weis, "Transfer of contaminants from CCA-treated sponsor such studies ascurrent laws do not require lumber to aquatic biota," J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., vol. 161, pp. any consideration of societal costs. A reasonable 189-199, 1992. approach, therefore, would be through state legis- [351 "FDER Staff message 1989 to FPSC staff during FPSC study (Report on Cost-Effectiveness of UG Electric Distribution Facilities lative action to open the electric power industry to 1990). full retail competition and let the market forces [36] M. Feychting and A. Ahlbom, "Magnetic fields and cancer in people residing near Swedish high voltage power lines," Instittutet bring about this long overdue improvement. An for Miljomedicin, Karolinska Inst., Stockholm, Sweden, June 1992. alternative approach could be for legislatures to [37] Rep. on Cost-Effectiveness of Underground Electric Distribution Facilities, FPSC, July 1990 and Dec. 1991. require utilities to operate in such a manner as to [381 Letters to the author from the California Public Utilities Com- minimize the aggregate ofsocietal costs associated mission Staff, Oct. 27, 1987, Apr. 28, 1988, Aug. 31, 1994, and with urban power delivery, attachments. [39] "The impact of public fear on the market value of property is admissible without independent proof of the reasonableness of the fear." Affirmed by the U.S. 6th Circuit; Hicks v U.S. 1959, & TVA References v Easement and R.O.W. issues, 1969. [1] J. Douglas, "Costs coming down for underground," J. Elec. Power [40] "Depending on the county and the size of the transmission line Res. Inst., June 1994. there is a decrease in property value from 27 to 45 per cent for property [2] N. lnou et al., "On-line fault system for 66-kV underground cables along the line." Florida Supreme Court, FP&L v Jennings and FP&L with fast O/E and fast AdD technique," IEEE Trans. Power Syst., Jan. v Roberts, Sept. 3, 1987. 1944. [41 ] "Severance damages awarded to landowner whose property is condemned for use by the elecu'ic utility for overhead transmission [31 Statistics Dept., "Estimating the costs of accidents," National Safety Council Bull., 1990-1994. line could include damages associated with public fear of EM radia- tion from such lines." CA 4th Dis Court of Appeals, Nov. 17. 1988. [4] A. Sanghvi, "Economic costs of electricity supply interruptions," [42] "The only issue before us centers on the claim for consequential Energy Econ., vol. 4, July 1982. [5] M. Sullivan, et al., "Description of Pacific Gas and Electric damages, based on the claimants' assertion that *cancerphopia' and company value of service study," unpublished workpaper, PG&E, the public's perception of a health risk from exposure to MF from Jan. 19, 1990. power lines negatively impact on the market value of their property [6] S. Burns and G. Gross, "Value of service reliability," IEEE Eng. and 'will render the remainder useless.' They argue that they should Standards Quart., Wint. 1990. not have to prove the 'reasonableness' of this perception as a separate. [7] A. Sanghvi, "Cost benefit analysis of power system reliability: additional component of diminished market value. We agree and determination of interruption costs," EPRI Rep. EL6791, May 1990. reverse the orderof the Appellate Division." State of New York, Court of Appeals, Criscuola v Power Authority of State of New York [8] M. Evans and P. Hanser, "Prospects for standby power programs," (representing 47 litigants), Oct. 1993. EPRIJ., Mar. 1992. [431"Logic and fairness ...dictatethatanylossofmarketvalueproven [9] G. Tollefson et al., "A Canadian customer survey to assess power system reliability worth," IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 9, Feb. 1994. with a reasonable degree of probability should be compenable, re- [ 10] D. Carpenter, M.D., "Epidemiological evidence for an associa- gardless of its source. If no one will buy a residential lot because it tion between exposure to 50 and 60 Hz magnetic fields and cancer" has a high voltage line across it, the lot is a total loss even though the James Bay Publ. Set., no. 6. Nov. 1994. owner has the legal right to build a house on it. If buyers can be found, [11] D. Savitz and D. Loomis, "Magnetic field exposure in relation but only at half the value it had beforetheline wasinstalled, tbe owner to leukemia and brain cancer mortality among electric utility work- has sufffered a 50% loss." Wills v Kansas City Power, State of Kansas ers,"Amer. J. Epidemiol., Jan. 15, 1995. Court of Appeals, S15 p2d 528-533, 1981. IEEE Technology and Society ~gozine, Spring 1996 RESOLUTION NO 96-03 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MARY ESTHER, OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA, REQUESTING THE FLORIDA LEGIS- LATURE UNDERTAKE AN UNBIASED AND COM- PREHENSIVE STUDY OF .THE TOTAL LIFE CYCLE COSTS OF OVERHEAD VERSUS UNDER- GROUND ELECTRIC UTILITIES; AND REQUEST- ING THAT THE DISTRIBUTION OF COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSITION FROM OVERHEAD TO UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC UTIL- ITIES BE IN A FAIR AND EQUITABLE MANNER TO ~L EENEFITTED PARTIES BE CONSIDERED: FORWARDING A COPY OF SAID RESOLUTION TO THE OKALOOSA COUNTY BOARD OF COM- MISSIONERS; THE FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES AND THE FLORIDA UNDERGROUNDERS; AND PRO- VIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, much interest has been generated in the installation and/or relocation of electric utilities from overhead to underground for reasons of health and safety, environment, disaster and storm damage mitigation, aesthetics and life cycle cost savings; an~ WHEREAS, as weather related costs to above ground utilities including hurricanes, tropical storms, high winds, and salt spray are substantial with respect to damage, outages and inconvenience to residential and commercial customers; and WHEREAS, no independent, unbiased and comprehensive study has been performed comparing overhead and underground electrical utilities within the State of Florida; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Mary Esther, Okaloosa County, Florida, in a public meeting has discussed the subject and determined that specific actions would be beneficial to the residents of the City of Mary Esther, Florida. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Mary Esther, Okaloosa County, Florida as follows: ~' (Resolution NO. 96-03) SECTION 1: That the City Council endorses and request the State of Florida Legislature undertake an unbiased and comprehensive study of the total life cycle costs of overhead versus underground electric utilities including design, construction, maintenance, operations and all ancillary activities. SECTION 2: That the City Council requests that the study committee be composed of engineers, economists, public administration professionals, local political leaders, sociologists, business persons, health professionals and environmentalists not associated with any electric utility or,the Public Service Commission to review and study all aspects of th%s s,,bject including any studies undertaken by the Legislature. SECTION 3: That the City Council takes the position that since benefits accrue to the State, local governments, people in general and the utilities themselves, the distribution of costs associated with the transition from overhead to underground electric utilities be in a fair and equitable manner to all Benefitted parties. SECTION 4: That copies of this Resolution be forwarded to the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners, the Florida League of Cities and the Florida Undergrounders. SECTION 5: That this Resolution take effect immediately upon adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Mary Esther, Florida this ~ day of 1996. Mayor BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA William A. "Bill" Harrison - District 1 Dennis "Nick" Nicholson ChaiPman - District 2 Kathleen A. "Kathie" O'Dell - District 3 E. Gordon Thomas Vice-ChaiPman - District 4 Ray Sansom. - District 5 SOUTH OFFICE BUSINESS ADDRESS: 1804 Lewis Turner Blvd. - Suite 100 Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548-1285 Phone: (904) 651-7105 FAX: (904) 651-7142 All Commissioners except Mr. Harrison can be reached and receive their mail at the South office address. NORTH OFFICE BUSINESS ADDRESS: 101 James Lee Blvd. East - Room 105 Crestview, FL 32536-3576 Phone: (90'4) 689-5030 (904) 689-5059 Commissioner Harrison can be reached and receives his mail at the North office. TOT,qL P. 01