FPL project will extend high voltage power lines 45 miles from Argyle to Sandestin

Florida Power & Light is making steady, and some would say stealthy, headway on a plan to run high voltage power transmission lines from a substation near Argyle west of DeFuniak Springs to Sandestin, a distance of some 45 miles.

Plans call for the lines to run from the recently completed Argyle Substation west of DeFuniak Springs down U.S. Highway 331 to the Santa Rosa Substation, then continue west for 7.4 miles to the county's Sandestin Substation.

The work is "part of a comprehensive plan to continue improving service reliability and grid resiliency across Northwest Florida," according to FPL spokesman George Bennett. "The transmission line will help meet the growing demand for energy in Walton County for years to come."

The project will be completed in 2025, Bennett said.

Walton County Planning Department Director Mac Carpenter said he has been shown sketches of what FPL is planning, but nothing formal has been turned in as of yet.

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The company, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, does not need local government approval to work in areas where utility easements exist, and has been active in some of those places for a couple of weeks, according to Carpenter.

Bill Imfeld, executive director of the Walton County Economic Development Alliance, said he'd heard nothing of FPL's plans until Carpenter informed him the transmission lines would be running right past the Northwest Florida Commerce Park on the west side of U.S 331, a little more than a mile south of DeFuniak Springs.

Development orders

FPL eventually will have to come to the county for development orders to do work in some areas, and Carpenter said the Planning Department has requested that any transmission lines run across Choctawhatchee Bay near U.S. 331 Clyde B. Wells Bridge be placed underground and, subsequently, underwater.

The county has also stipulated that all lines run through Grady Brown Park at the northwest end of the bridge also go underground. The county spent $3.7 million to refurbish the park. It used revenues left over from a sales tax imposed to fund expansion of the bridge. 

"We let them know we've spent a lot of money developing Grady Brown Park to make it a real nice amenity that enhances the view of the area and serves as the gateway to our beaches," Carpenter said.

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Bennett said FPL plans to use existing easement corridors were practical for the project, which would in some cases likely mean reaching a joint-use agreement with CHELCO, the Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative, which already has distribution lines running along the U.S. 331 corridor on either side of the Clyde B. Wells Bridge.

"It's very common for two different utilities to share the same powerline path, and we could co-locate onto the same poles in some areas for the benefit of the public," CHELCO spokeswoman Emily Cowan said.

FPL will still be required to acquire its own easement, even in locations where CHELCO has existing power lines, Cowan said. 

Bennett also said FPL has begun working with property owners in some areas "to obtain easements through voluntary negotiations."

FPL land acquisition

Mike Tomkiewicz, an attorney who represents homeowners in eminent domain cases, said FPL had approached some north county residents with offers of cash payments in exchange for a portion of their property.

"We've been told acquisition agents have been showing up at people's doors," Tomkiewicz said.

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He said FPL benefits by keeping details of its project "really close to the vest."

"They do all these plans to put in these transmission lines and they don't tell anybody," Tomkiewicz said. "As a private company, they're immune from a public records request. They finalize the project and the first time people hear about it is when someone knocks on their door and says 'eminent domain.' "

Tomkiewicz called FPL's land acquisition procedure "a predatory system" that seeks to convince property owners to give up more of their land than they need to and pay them less money for it. 

The lawyer said he's gathered enough information about the project to convene a meeting, at which he learned that some had already negotiated with FPL to provide easements on their land.

His company, GrayRobinson, represents people in eminent domain cases to get them the best deal available, and profits because condemning agencies, in this case FPL, are required to pay the fees and costs associated with condemnation proceedings. 

"Obviously, our interest is in finding out about the project. We want to represent folks and would like to know who they are," he said. 

The transmission line project is required, according to FPL's Bennett, "to maintain reliability for customers in the Walton County area and remain in compliance with the standards of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which has regulatory authority over the reliability of the power grid system."

New rate increase

He said FPL's goal for the project is to protect public health and safety and to avoid impacting the environment.

FPL has been subjected to a great deal of criticism in Northwest Florida since January, the first month former Gulf Power customers made payments following the merger of the two companies. It was also the first month a new rate increase took effect for FPL customers.

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The bills customers in Walton and Okaloosa counties received in January left many outraged, according to a Northwest Florida Daily News article published in early February. DeFuniak Springs resident Mary Brewster said her bill went from $184.13 in December to $291.80 in January. Her projected bill for February was $394.

Brewster told the Daily News that in the four years she's lived in Walton County, she had never seen her power bill rise above $280, even during the winter.

According to Bennett, FPL is recognized as a national leader in service reliability.

"Customers in Northwest Florida have seen more than a 50% improvement in reliability since becoming part of the FPL family in 2019," he said.