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Hernando Today

Existing Path Likely For New Power Lines

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By KYLE MARTIN and TONY MARRERO

Hernando Today

Published: May 21, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Progress Energy plans to keep its new power lines mostly within the boundaries of existing routes.

Hernando County is one stop along the 200 miles of extra lines the company expects to string up along a nine-county area.

The company released its preferred locations for those routes on Tuesday, which includes rebuilding the infrastructure in the area of Sunshine Grove Road.

The idea at this point is to tear down the existing "lattice-work" type steel structures with four legs on the ground and replace them with single poles ranging in height from 90 to 135 feet.

"The technology has really improved," said Cherie Jacobs, spokeswoman for Progress Energy. There might be some areas where the poles would be built alongside the existing structure.

An aerial photo of the proposal shows the corridor as a straight shot south of the Citrus County line until the corridor reaches the Brookridge area. Then it doglegs into an upside down "L" shape and travels a bit farther to the Brooksville power substation, just south of Cortez Boulevard.

Right now that's just a proposal, and the exact width of the corridor ranges from 300 feet to a mile. The proposal will be forwarded to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for approval.

By early 2009, engineers will begin narrowing down the specifics of the corridors. By 2012, work will get under way with an expected completion date of 2016.

Progress Energy made its decision to stick to existing corridors after holding community meetings across their coverage area. As a result, no more than 20 miles of new right of way will be acquired for the project.

Two county commissioners said Tuesday they were pleased to see Progress Energy is sticking mainly to existing corridors.

But they said they aren't ready to give up the fight to have the power lines installed underground, despite the power company's arguments that underground lines cost some $10 million per mile, are more difficult to access for repairs and maintenance, and have a greater environmental impact.

"I think we still need to push for the best available technology," Commissioner Dave Russell said.

Commissioner Jeff Stabins repeated his assertion that the county can seek help from the state to champion its cause.

"We still have the ability to go to the Cabinet," Stabins said.

Expanding the power lines is a response to a forecasted rise in energy demands in the coming years. To meet those needs, Progress Energy plans to build a $17 billion nuclear power plant in Levy County by 2016.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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