FPL responds to figure out why Sanford’s Airport Lanes continue to have power surges

Florida Power and Light arrived at Sanford’s Airport Lanes to try and determine what was causing the power surge and destroying the business’s electronics.

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The owners of the bowling alley called Channel 9 after months of being unable to get answers from FPL.

On Thursday, FPL crews checked lines around the business but were still unable to determine what was causing the surges.

The bowling alley owners would like to open back up but are concerned if they get another surge it will destroy any new equipment they would have installed.

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WFTV was at the bowling alley earlier this week when owners of Airport Lanes on East Airport Boulevard said they had to temporarily close in November because of power dips and surges.

So far, the bowling alley said it has cost them $166,000 to repair and replace equipment that was damaged by the issue since August.

They believe it all started when Florida Power and Light replaced a power pole in front of the business.

Jennifer Halpern is the chief financial officer for Aloma Bowling Centers, which also owns Aloma Bowl in Winter Park and Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando.

She said the crew had to shut down power for four to five hours on Aug. 7.

“The first motor started going on Aug. 10,” she said. “That’s the first motor we found.”

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Halpern said they only realized it was an electrical issue once they lost the upper part of the house.

“Twelve lanes going down a freezer, different coolers all in the same timeframe, all on that side,” Halpern said. “That was the first thing that said, ‘hey, this has to be something more than just a machine,’ you know, a motor going down.”

Airport Lanes remained open as they continued to repair and replace the blown-out motors and computer boards, but the new parts also started to become fried due to the power surges.

Halpern said it cost a lot to continue to fix them, and they needed to not turn anything on until FPL investigated. She said that 30 employees have been out of work since Nov. 1, which is heartbreaking since it’s around the holidays.

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An email from FPL to Aloma Bowling Centers said that they installed a meter to monitor the voltage and that the voltage was within “standard parameters.”

Halpern said they brought in three independent electricians to determine the issue. All three concluded that the source of the surges stemmed not from inside the business but from the utility.

In a video recorded by an electrician for Miller Electric, a significant dip in voltage and then a large spike in power can be seen that lasts for a split second.

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Halpern said they would like FPL to pinpoint the equipment inside the building that they believe is causing the surges, as their equipment had no issues before replacing the power pole in August.

Shawn Johnson, a communication specialist for NextEra Energy and FPL, sent Channel 9 a statement which reads:

As part of our promise to provide reliable electric service, we have been and will continue to be in communication with the customer regarding this matter. Our field experts actively monitor voltage data, and based on this information, have identified customer-owned equipment to be the cause. We remain committed to working with the customer and helping them reach a resolution.

Halpern said she wants to solve the issue so they can reopen, which they can’t until the power surge issue is solved.

‘We just want stable power so we can get the machines fixed,” she said. “We have the parts. We can’t put them on until we know for sure it’s not going to destroy more equipment.”

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