GAINESVILLE (970 WFLA) -- It may not seem this way to the three percent of Floridians who still don't have electricity. But a public utilities expert at the University of Florida says our state's response to power outages caused by Hurricane Irma is better than similar events a decade or so ago.
Dr. Ted Kury says the power system is better protected from storm damage. While many people think burying power lines is the way to go, Kury says that won't provide total protection in coastal areas that suffer storm surge. Plus it's way expensive.
"There is no one solution for... the location of power lines. In areas susceptible to... flooding, the best solution might be to leave them above ground," Kury says. "It is important to consider the costs and benefits to each of the different solutions."
Kury says grid safety represents a trade-off because reliability costs money. He insists that utilities and the Public Service Commission have spent a lot of time working to improve power grid reliability.