LONGWOOD, Fla. – Tom Debold said Tuesday he's shocked Duke Energy would replace the old wooden utility poles in his Wingfield North neighborhood with new steel ones.
They're way too big and they are going to hurt everyone's property values, Debold said.
"I may not have any intention of selling my home, but I would really hate (if) five, six, seven years from now, if I go to sell my home, to have that come back to haunt me on the lost value of the home," Debold told News 6.
He has since teamed up with other residents to form a group and get results.
Debold said the group wants Duke Energy to shorten the poles, so they're not towering over everyone's houses.
"They don't have to be any higher than the original poles, which would put them pretty much out of sight, but they've elected to go 30 feet higher," Tom Simmons said. "You can see it from most of the neighbors."
Simmons and his wife are extremely frustrated with Duke Energy. He said they weren't informed of the project until about a week ago, when the couple received a letter in the mail.
Simmons said it was addressed to the wrong person.
"I think it's amusing Duke Energy knows our name and address when they send us a bill every month, but when they're putting up a pole in our neighborhood, which is an eyesore, they don't know who we are," Trena Simmons said.
Duke Energy told a much different story about the situation and said it plans to meet with the residents to talk about possible solutions.
Here's a statement the company issued News 6:
Duke Energy values its customers and we understand the importance of customer communication. For the past three years we shared letters directly with homeowners regarding the details of this project and provided updates, including pole height details. Additionally, Duke Energy met with the homeowner associations to address questions and concerns.
Reliability is a responsibility Duke Energy takes very seriously. Enhancing and investing in our infrastructure is critical to the reliability of our system, which services 1.8 million customers across the state. Upgrading wooden poles with more modern steel poles, provides better technology, and can withstand higher winds during hurricanes and inclement weather.
Duke Energy Florida has invested more than $1.4 billion since 2004 maintaining and strengthening its energy system. These investments include upgrading wood transmission structures with steel or concrete, trimming trees and installing grid automation and smart grid devices to help improve service reliability and reduce both the length and number of outages.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Wingfield North subdivision.