Electric reliability

[KEVIN & JOSIE]

Can any residents advise how reliable the electric service is to The Villages community? We're still stuck in PA, where losing power is a common occurance. Also, if you purchase a home with natural gas appliances, are stand by generators allowed? Thanks in advance for your replies. :thumbup: Kevin & Josie

[jblum315]

I've been here 2 years, through many thunderstorms, and have not lost power a single time. The power lines are buried, which I'm sure is a help. I do have a whole house surge protector, just in case.

[dfn8tly]

I've owned my home in the Village of Amelia for 3 1/2 years and only lost power once when a cable at the power box broke. That was repaired in only a couple of hours and I've not had any other problems. Power losses here are very rare. As for your question regarding back-up generators in a house with gas appliances I don't have the answer. Clearly a generator would help give power to a few electric appliances and I do know some people who have them. They are not generally popular as we so rarely have a power loss. FYI if you are buying a new home or a home built in the last year they are now all electric.

[billethkid]

seven years with tornado/hurricane/severe weather in the area and never even a flicker.

There is very little in TV and surrounding area that is not underground.

I would score TV area 100% reliable.

btk

[Whalen]

We must be in an electrical "black hole" as we have had at least three power outages since we moved here two years ago. The last one was last Wednesday. :(

[texasfal]

WOW! We've never lost power in the 7 years we've been here - not even during the string of hurricanes in 2004. Cable & satellite tv, yes. Power, no.

[Snowbirdtobe]

Power loss in Florida is nothing like power loss in the North.
Since all the homes in TV have underground utilities any downed power lines will serve hundreds of homes and will be quickly fixed by the power company.
Even on the coldest days your pipes in your house won't freeze.
You can flush the toilets because you don't have a well.
You can cook on the grill without putting on your winter coat.
Even if you get a home with gas appliances the only things that are likely to work are the stove and water heater. Everything else has a motor.
In TV here are some problems you will have.
The Rec centers will be closed. You will need to open the garage door by hand to get to the golf cart out.
The tee time system might be down.
You may need to open windows.
Your sprinklers won't come on and the clock might need to be reset if you don't have a fresh battery in the controller.

[pooh]

In 5 years it's gone out a few times, nothing very long, though. We did suffer a cable loss for a bit when lightning struck a power box down the road from us. The service in our area is pretty reliable, partially because of underground wiring....but that doesn't mean that we're totally immune from outages. If power "up the line" is out, we could be without....but generally speaking, it's not something we worry too much about.

[GeorgeT]

Never lost power.

[KEVIN & JOSIE]

Thanks for all the responses. It sounds like a back up power supply would not be needed. We constantly loose power now, and it becomes a concern when it is in the middle of the frigid winter, or in the heat of the summer. Sounds like another reason to get rid of stuff, pack up our kitty, and head south for the good life.

[schotzyb]

Over 3 years here and never had a power loss.

[swrinfla]

Going on seven years here. One remembered power loss: all of 90 seconds!

I see aboslutely no need for a generator! My brother, who lives nearby but not in The Villages, installed a ginormous whole-house unit after being without power for a week or more in late 2004. I guess maybe it works! He says it powers up every week as a test, but has never been needed!

SWR
:beer3:

[mikeandnancy1112]

We have been in TV for over five years and I think we have lost power maybe twice for no longer than 20 minutes each time When we lived in Costa Rica for four months we lost power for eight hours twice a week. Twice is nothing.

[tom60]

Kevin dont worry about power failures. The power hardly ever failes here. Been here for 11 years and have had two or three failures that didnt last 5 minutes. Electric service is very good and reliable. I would not spend money on a generator. You probably wont ever need it.

[Ooper]

Been here 10 years... can't remember any power outages in my village of Santiago.

[2 Oldcrabs]

Underground is much more reliable than "poles & wires". If the system is designed correctly your outage time should be no more than 2 hrs under normal equipment failure situations. In the event of a Hurricance or Tornado the damage to Tower lines, and Substations can take much longer. But the utility needs to repair them first. I will be bringing a generator with me because I already own one. I do not think I would go out and buy one.

[English Ivy]

Underground is much more reliable than "poles & wires". If the system is designed correctly your outage time should be no more than 2 hrs under normal equipment failure situations. In the event of a Hurricance or Tornado the damage to Tower lines, and Substations can take much longer. But the utility needs to repair them first. I will be bringing a generator with me because I already own one. I do not think I would go out and buy one.

Thank you for realistically discussing possible power outages. We're fortunate that we have underground utilities and very rarely to never have outages. However that doesn't mean it can't happen just because we live in The Villages.

You already have a generator and are smart to bring it with you. We didn't have one to bring so some day we may be part of the panicked mob at Home Depot trying to buy one when a huge storm is heading directly for central Florida.