FPL Undergrounding

We are pleased to inform residents and businesses that Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) continues its conversion of neighborhood lateral lines from overhead to underground service throughout Coral Gables. This work includes removing overhead electric distribution wires, lines, and poles, and installing underground facilities wherever feasible. The only remaining above-ground components will be new, pad-mounted transformers.

This significant infrastructure investment will strengthen our electrical system, improve public safety, enhance reliability, and increase resilience to outages and service interruptions. Undergrounding has been a long-standing priority for the community since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and was reinforced following Hurricane Irma in 2017. In addition to improving performance during major storms, undergrounding enhances the visual character of our City Beautiful.

The project is now in its fourth year of a comprehensive, multi-year conversion program involving FPL’s equipment and facilities. Importantly, the work is being funded by FPL through its Storm Secure Underground Program (SSUP), approved by the Florida Public Service Commission. There is no direct cost to city residents or businesses. When the city first evaluated undergrounding several years ago, the estimated cost exceeded $400 million. Had the city been required to fund or share in that cost, it would have necessitated voter approval to issue bonds and would have placed a substantial long-term financial burden on property owners. Under the SSUP, the conversion is funded through FPL’s program, not the city’s budget, with the costs borne across all of FPL’s customers in its entire Florida system.

Many neighborhoods have already been converted over the past three years. A map of completed and planned areas is available at the bottom of the Frequently Asked Questions page below. FPL anticipates that approximately two-thirds of the City will have its neighborhood electrical system converted to underground service by 2034. The remaining areas may take an additional 15 years to complete, subject to continued program approval by the Florida Public Service Commission.

The project includes undergrounding all backyard overhead lines to the electrical connection point at each property currently served by overhead infrastructure. In addition, as part of FPL’s main feeder line hardening initiative, up to 15 percent of overhead main feeder line miles within the city may also be converted to underground. FPL expects to complete its overhead main-feeder hardening work within the next 2 years. Together, these efforts are expected to significantly enhance the city’s long-term reliability and resilience during major storms and hurricanes.

FPL is managing the project in close coordination with the city. Property owners will be contacted in advance of any work in their neighborhood. Access to utility easements is essential to ensure that the entire system functions as designed. A mix of underground equipment and remaining overhead poles and lines would undermine the program's effectiveness. Full cooperation from property owners is critical to achieving the intended systemwide reliability and resilience.

The city is also working to address the undergrounding of telecommunications and cable infrastructure, primarily AT&T and Comcast, in coordination with the electric conversion. The city adopted an ordinance requiring the conversion of above-ground communications infrastructure when electric infrastructure is converted. This issue remains under discussion due to disagreement with certain communications providers. The city continues to pursue a resolution that will allow for coordinated undergrounding without cost to city taxpayers.

The FPL undergrounding program is a citywide, multi-year initiative that is transforming Coral Gables for the future. This is a major infrastructure improvement, undertaken at no direct cost to city taxpayers, that will benefit residents and businesses for decades to come.

For more information, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page or our Undergrounding Project Construction Updates page.

AT&T Fiber

We are pleased that AT&T is in the process of completing the installation of "AT&T Fiber" (their newest fiber optic lines and hyper-gig speeds) to offer it throughout Coral Gables. Although the city has no preference or partnership with any specific telecommunications provider and does not interfere with private sector commercial matters, Coral Gables is one of the first metropolitan areas where this infrastructure is being offered. This fiber offers the newest technology, the fastest internet speeds between 3 and 100 times faster than what customers may have now, and is more durable. AT&T states that it can convert and upgrade customers to the new technology at no additional cost or installation charges. In fact, depending on the circumstances on a customer-by-customer basis, city residents who utilize AT&T could see a reduction in their monthly bills based on their plans. AT&T has already begun offering the conversions on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis to homes within some areas of Coral Gables as the company continues its rollout.

We are proud that Coral Gables is being offered this faster, more durable, and reliable service early, speedily, and at no additional cost to our taxpayers. For more information on AT&T Fiber, please go to https://fiber.att.com/.

Thank you very much.

Your City of Coral Gables Undergrounding Project Team