Hurricane season is here, and Florida Power & Light says it's spending 2026 trying to make Martin County's grid harder to knock down. The centerpiece is its Storm Secure Underground Program, which moves vulnerable overhead neighborhood lines underground.
In Martin County specifically, FPL plans to complete 72 of those underground conversion projects this year. The logic is simple: lines you can't see can't get taken out by a falling tree limb or flying debris in a storm.
Speaking of trees — vegetation is the leading cause of outages, and FPL says it will trim trees and brush along 443 miles of power lines across the county in 2026.
The utility is also inspecting 8,508 power poles in Martin County, strengthening or replacing the ones that no longer meet its standards. Aging poles are a classic weak point when winds pick up.
"By continuing to invest in our electric grid, we are strengthening resilience year-round and helping our communities recover faster when severe weather impacts our area," said Don Kiselewski, executive director of external affairs for FPL's Central Region.
It's worth noting this is part of a broader Treasure Coast push — FPL is running similar upgrade programs in Indian River and St. Lucie counties too. The goal across the region is fewer outages day to day and faster recovery after the big storms.
For the 772, where everyone has a story about days without power after a hurricane, this is the unglamorous work that actually moves the needle. Worth knowing your neighborhood may see crews and short planned outages as the conversions happen.