As St. Petersburg continues to grow, we must upgrade and expand the energy infrastructure to power the community. Duke Energy is working hard to make sure that the energy infrastructure connecting the St. Petersburg and Gulfport communities to the electric grid can reliably serve customers now and in the future. Improvements, such as new and upgraded power lines, will help increase electric capacity in the area to sustainably support this growth.
51st Street Substation
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St. Petersburg Area Grid Improvements
51st Street Substation Optimization
Duke Energy is working hard in your community to improve reliability, reduce outages, strengthen the power grid against severe weather and prepare our system to serve your growing area. As part of this commitment, we are conducting major grid improvement projects in the St. Petersburg and Gulfport areas.
About the Project
We’re upgrading our electric infrastructure in St. Petersburg, including improvements in Gulfport and surrounding areas. Work will be conducted in phases through 2022 and will center around these primary work objectives:
- Strengthen the power grid to avoid power outages: Upgrading power lines, poles and essential equipment
- Improve reliability and reduce outage time: Installing smart, self-healing technology that automatically detects power outages and quickly reroutes power to restore service faster
Project map
Work begins in January of 2022 to extend self-healing technology along the main power lines in your area. Crews are installing automatic sensors and communication equipment, control boxes on poles, switching equipment and reclosers that can automatically isolate outages and restore power. We’ll also be upgrading poles and electric wire in some areas.
Learn more about grid-strengthening technologies
These videos offer more information about two of the types of projects we will be implementing to strengthen your electric grid.
This is a large-scale project that will be conducted throughout 2022. You may still experience temporary outages as crews are replacing existing equipment. Temporary outages, although unlikely, may be needed so that crews can perform installations safely during working hours. Any affected customers will be notified in advance.
As work is scheduled, we will try to post major road closures or updates on this site. Please bookmark this page for easy access. If you have questions, please contact your dedicated public engagement manager for this project. (Link to contact form at bottom of page)
Throughout 2022, customers impacted by work should expect:
Throughout 2022, customers impacted by work should expect:
- Road closures during various phases
- Backlot access, as needed, to perform maintenance and upgrade overhead wires
- Weekend work is possible
- Planned outages, although unlikely, may be required. Customers will be notified in advance should a temporary outage be necessary while crews work
- Construction equipment and work crews will be present in work areas around the community
The intent of these projects is to:
- Support current and future growth and development in the area
- Improve overall reliability of service to customers
- Strengthen the grid against power outages from severe weather
- Provide smarter options to restore power faster using self-healing technologies
Frequently Asked Questions
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Various phases of the work along roads will include temporary traffic flow changes and potential temporary road closures. Large utility and construction equipment, as well as utility crews, will be present in work zones. Planned outages, while unlikely, may be necessary to complete certain projects. We will notify affected customers prior to any planned outage.
In some instances, crews will also need to work in our right of way behind a customer's home or business to access a power line or other equipment. -
This project will be in progress throughout 2022. Work will be conducted in phases, and we will share updates on project milestones and next steps.
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Easements will be required for some customers on Targeted Undergrounding projects. If your property is included in an undergrounding project and an easement is needed, you will receive a separate postcard notification and a Duke Energy representative will reach out to you.
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For portions of the project, crews will need to access overhead lines and equipment located behind homes and businesses. This work may require access through gates or fences. We will notify property owners in advance if such access is required.
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Most of the neighborhood work being conducted involves overhead equipment and should not create impacts to customer property. In areas where underground equipment is being installed, crews will restore the area to pre-work conditions.
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We are making strategic improvements to the power grid in St. Petersburg to increase reliability, strengthen the grid against severe weather and other threats, expand innovative technologies like solar battery storage, and provide customers with more control over the energy use and tools to save money.
We are conducting many improvements in St. Petersburg, such as:- Pole and line upgrades to strengthen the grid against outages from severe weather
- Self-healing technologies that automatically detect power outages and reroute service to restore power faster
- Additional energy pathways and smart technology around critical areas of the city, such as Uptown, the airport and hospitals, to provide new tools to avoid outages and restore power faster when outages occur
- Reliability improvements in areas that have experienced a higher number of outages
- Strategic undergrounding of outage-prone line segments to improve reliability for customers
- Increasing substation and line capacity in fast-growing areas of the region
In addition, Duke Energy customers can access new tools and options through their smart meter, including hourly and daily usage information, to help better manage energy use and save money.
Learn more about the ways Duke Energy is working to build a better energy grid in Florida.