RESEARCH DIVISION
TRANSPORTATION, ENERGY & UTILITIES SPECIAL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
October 31, 2016
Council Chamber
Ground Floor, City Hall
117 W. Duval Street
Attendance: Council Members: Al Ferraro (Chair), Doyle Carter (Vice Chair), Greg Anderson, Anna Lopez Brosche, Reggie Brown, John Crescimbeni, Reggie Gaffney; Assistant General Counsel Paige Johnston; Kim Taylor, Council Auditor’s Office; Jordan Elsbury, Administration, Yvonne Mitchell, John J. Jackson, Council Research Division; Legislative Assistant Philip Zamarron.
The Chairman called the special committee meeting to order at 2:59 p.m.
The focus of the Special Committee Meeting was the electrical grid and its effect on neighborhoods.
The PowerPoint presentation was conducted by Jordan Pope, Manager of Government Relations and Russ Durham, Manager, Electric Transmission and Distribution Planning, JEA.
Mr. Pope explained the JEA electric system. The PowerPoint illustrated how electricity is moved from a power plant on to a step-up transformer, towers and from a transmission substation on to a distribution substation, transformers and into homes. 55% of JEA’s electricity is moved underground while 45% is moved above ground.
JEA has generation plants in its electric generation system: Brandy Branch Generating Station, Northside Generating Station, St. Johns River Power Park, Kennedy Generation Station, Greenland Energy Center and Plant Scherer (partial ownership of a nuclear plant in Georgia). Fuel sources include natural gas, coal, petroleum coke and oil.
Mr. Pope further explained that JEA’s transmission system consists of 745 miles of transmission lines transferring power from electric generation plants to 74 electric substations located throughout the utility’s service territory. Electricity is transferred to substations where transformers lower the voltage for distribution through main electric wires called circuit or feeders. Circuits may be located overhead or underground. JEA serves its customers through 6,760 miles of distribution lines together with 200,000+ poles and 100,000+ transformers.
Mr. Pope’s presentation illustrated how, on a normal day, power moves from a substation along feeders to transformers on either underground or overhead wiring and ultimately into homes.
In explaining the common causes of power outages, Mr. Pope cited trees, animals (birds and squirrels), vehicles hitting JEA poles, equipment failure and lighting as overhead electric causes for outages; for underground electric causes, Mr. Pope listed snakes/frogs in electric cabinets, cabinets being hit by vehicles, vines growing into electric cabinets, subsurface construction and equipment failure.
Mr. Pope explained restoration of power in the aftermath of severe weather outages; Hurricane Matthew was cited as an example. In answering Council Member Anna Lopez Brosche’s inquiry about priorities, Mr. Durham said that restoring electric power to hospitals was the top priority. Other priorities were certain intersections, schools and JEA lift stations. He further explained that an overhead outage is quicker to repair than an underground outage. It was easier to tackle a tree falling on a line issue than the disruption of underground wires.
Council Vice President John Crescimbeni asked how a snake could disrupt underground electric service. Mr. Durham explained how a snake could penetrate the coils in an electric cabinet and trip a circuit breaker.
Council Member Greg Anderson noted that we no longer engage JEA personnel to go from house to house reading meters because JEA can now wirelessly determine how much electricity households consume. Does JEA have the capability to wirelessly determine that an outage exists somewhere in its system. Mr. Durham indicated that JEA is moving toward acquiring that technology.
Council Member Lopez Brosche recounted how frustrating it was to acquire adequate JEA information in the midst of Matthew. She had found fault with JEA’s website. She felt that it was imperative to get as much information to people as soon as possible, letting them know where things stood. Overall, she gave JEA’s website high marks.
There being no further business, the special meeting was adjourned at 3:55 p.m.
John J. Jackson, Council Research Division (904) 630-1729
11.03.16
Posted: 12:00 p.m.