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Engineer's Goof Turned Out Florida Lights  

Posted Mar 1, 08 10:31 AM CST in US    Editor's Choice

(newser) – One engineer's blunder shut off the power in Florida Tuesday, the Miami Herald reports. Florida Light & Power says a field engineer diagnosing a faulty switch disabled two levels of safety backups—against company policy—as he worked. In a bit of extremely unfortunate timing, a fault then occurred that knocked out dozens of transmission lines and substations, including one that served the Turkey Point nuclear reactor.

The utility's president apologized to the million homes up and down the state that lost power and said procedures were being changed "out of an abundance of caution." FPL's boss wouldn't name the engineer who slipped up or give any details about him except to say that he was experienced. The engineer has been suspended with pay while the company investigates.

Source Miami Herald

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Engineer's Goof Turned Out Florida Lights
FILE **Turkey Point, one of three nuclear power plants in Florida is seen in this Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2001, file photo, in Miami. A Florida Power & Light spokesman says the widespread power outages affecting...   (Associated Press)
Engineer's Goof Turned Out Florida Lights
Florida Power and Light workers walk inside compound of the Flagami substation located next to FP & L headquarters in Miami, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008. An FP & L spokesman said the power outage that affected...   (Associated Press)
Engineer's Goof Turned Out Florida Lights
Downtown Miami is seen Tuesday evening, Feb. 26, 2008. Power outages caused by an engineer's mistke affected up to 3 million people. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)   (Associated Press)
Engineer's Goof Turned Out Florida Lights
City of Miami police officer Hector Herrera directs traffic under a traffic light that is out due to the massive power outages that struck south Florida February 26, 2008 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by...   (Getty Images)
Engineer's Goof Turned Out Florida Lights
Electrical power lines run away and into Turkey Power Plant near Homestead, Fla. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)   (Associated Press)
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Florida  • electricity  • power outage  • blackout  • engineers  • utility companies  • mistake


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