Largo

Duke Energy is committed to providing dependable energy to the communities we serve. As part of that commitment, upgrades are needed to make the electric grid stronger, smarter and more resilient. With storms increasing in frequency and intensity, our year-round grid-strengthening work and advanced technology are critical in helping to reduce outages and enable swift restorations. 

We want to make sure all of our customers enjoy the same high level of reliability and service. A recent reliability analysis identified locations that could benefit from improvements such as new smart technologies, pole replacements, equipment upgrades and vegetation management to help ensure reliable, resilient service now and in the future. 

Based on technological advancements and extensive outage data analysis, engineers and energy system planners identify where upgrades to the system are needed to strengthen the grid and help improve reliability and resiliency for our customers.

Various phases of the work will likely include temporary traffic flow changes and temporary road closures. Large utility and construction equipment, as well as utility crews, will be present in work zones. Planned outages, while unlikely, may be necessary to complete certain projects, so we will notify affected customers prior to any planned outage in a timely fashion.

In some instances, crews will need to place equipment in the road right of way – the city or county property between your property line and the road. This area provides legal access for placing equipment, underground power lines and other utilities. Private cable locating services will be used to avoid disturbing utilities that are already underground.

Should equipment installation be required, we will coordinate the following with you:

• Scheduling
• Preparing and marking the site (i.e., locating existing utilities)
• Trimming and/or removing vegetation 
• Construction
• Meter base conversion
• Removing overhead power line
• Restoring property

In some locations, trees and vegetation must be trimmed and/or removed before construction to provide safe and unobstructed access for the work. Also, trees and other vegetation are one of the leading causes of outages. At Duke Energy, our priority is to strike a balance between the natural beauty trees provide and our commitment to providing safe, reliable electricity to the millions of homes and businesses that depend on us 24 hours a day. Learn more about vegetation management in Florida.

We anticipate the full project will take one to five years and be conducted in phases. Throughout the project, we will share updates on milestones and next steps. There may be gaps in activity as we conduct internal planning and other preparations, so the grid improvement work may not be continuous, but spread out over time.

The majority of the work will be conducted on road rights of way or existing Duke Energy easement areas. However, if land rights are required for your property, a Duke Energy representative will contact you directly.

A road right of way is the strip of city/county property between your property line and the road. It provides legal access for placing equipment, underground power lines and other utilities. Utility providers such as electric, water and telecommunications may use the public right of way for their services. The specific right-of-way locations may not be consistent across the city. They are defined on the plat of the subdivision, or they can be determined by a surveyor.

This illustration depicts the most common spacings of right of way from your property line. However, specific right-of-way locations may not be consistent across the city. They are defined on the plat of the subdivision, or they can be determined by a surveyor.

Crews will restore the work area to as closely as possible to its original condition. Site restoration and improvements will be scheduled once construction on the project is completed. 

Our Florida Grid Improvement team will reach out to customers impacted by grid improvement projects by phone and postal mail. To receive project updates, customers need to make sure their account is updated with current contact information by signing in to a Duke Energy account at duke-energy.com/MyAccount, via our mobile application, or by calling our customer care center at 800.700.8744.