TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — “Every time we have a power outage it’s a tree that hits a line,” said Sheryl Gunderson.
Sheryl Gunderson lives in the Tallahassee community and said she’s fed up after the number of outages that occurs.
The latest outage caused by a fallen tree.
The power failure lasting for more than 6 hours and the outage stretched for more than 7 miles.
One business affected is Eastwood Pharmacy. Leaving customers like Gunderson unable to get her medication.
“I need the medication that I’m out of that I need to have that I’m supposed to be on. I can’t get it. Now, I have no way to get back here to get the medication,” said Gunderson.
Gunderson said this is a major inconvenience. She says power outages are nothing new and it’s time to do something different.
“Pretty much other areas have gone to powerline underground because of issues,” said Gunderson.
Gunderson, like many others, question why all power lines haven’t been placed underground.
According to the city of Tallahassee, all power lines are placed underground for new developments, though old power lines are a different story.
Back in 2019, shortly after Hurricane Michael the price to lay existing power lines underground ranged from $1 million to $1.5 million per mile Electric and Gas Utility.
The city said this is an ongoing issue but, in the meantime, has other resources that can help like neighborhood PREP workshops.
“So the experts in the utility field will share information on what residents can do in the event of a power outage, how they can prepare with the supplies that they need in the event of a power outage also how to stay safe in the event of a power outage,” said Leann Watts-Williams, Supervisor Neighborhood Services.
