Through a series of meetings with the Town, FPL, AT & T, Comcast, and other stakeholder utilities, Kimley-Horn has developed a recommended phasing and sequencing plan for the implementation of the undergrounding program. These recommendations are intended to serve as guidance during the design and construction of the overhead to underground conversion improvements. Throughout the implementation process, these recommendations should be reviewed so adjustments can be made as may be required to account for changes in technology, various utility and stakeholder requirements, and changes with other work programs within the Town that may influence the implementation of the undergrounding program in the future.

6.1 Phase Limit Development

To develop the phase limits for the project, several factors needed to be considered. These factors included the following:

• yFPL tariff requirements

• yPhysical size of the individual phase

• yElectric and communication utility system technical requirements

• yCost efficiency

These factors and their influence on the development of the recommended phasing limits of the program are described in greater detail below.

FPL Tariff Requirements

The Florida Public Service Commission exercises regulatory authority over FPL to ensure that consumers receive their electric service in a safe, reasonable, and reliable manner. Part of this regulatory authority includes the approval of the tariff that sets the rules and regulations FPL operates under in providing electrical service. The tariff document sets forth specific rules for the conversion of facilities from overhead to underground locations.

When local governments apply to FPL to have overhead facilities converted to underground locations, they can qualify for a Governmental Adjustment Factor Waiver(“ GAF Waiver”) if the conversion project meets certain criteria. The GAF Waiver essentially provides for a 25 % discount of the Cost In Aid of Construction( CIAC) that is required to be paid to FPL by the local government applicant to perform the conversion.

One of the criteria that is important to consider when developing an undergrounding phasing plan is that the conversion must include a minimum of three pole line miles or approximately 200 detached dwelling units within a contiguous or closely proximate geographic areas to qualify for the GAF Waiver. If the conversion program is to be phased, then these minimums may be met over at most, three phases and that each phase begin within one year from the completion of the previous phase. The Town’ s undergrounding program meets the criteria to qualify for the GAF Waiver.

Physical Size of the Individual Phase

While the FPL tariff requires minimum project size to be eligible for the GAF Waiver, the individual phase area should not be excessively large for several reasons:

• yBreaking the project up into multiple components provides for enhanced competition amongst the contracting community to perform the work.

• yBreaking up the total program cost into phases reduces the bonding capacity required for qualified contractors who may choose to pursue the individual projects. This

allows the pool of bidders to remain high which fosters competitive pricing.

• yMultiple phases reduce the risk that a single contractor fails to execute the work of a single large phase. Contractor failure introduces risks to both project schedule and costs related to delays, re-work, re-mobilization activities, and potential litigation.

• yThe amount of work to be performed within a given time period needs to be manageable not only for the Town’ s contractor, consultants, and staff, but also for the utility companies that are involved. There are operations that must be performed by FPL, AT & T, and Comcast so their scopes of work for both design and construction must be feasible to complete within the given timeframe.

y • Community impacts due to the construction must be considered in selecting a project size. Each phase is anticipated to have a duration of 18 to 24 months. It has been our experience that durations longer than this can cause strain within the affected community due to traffic impacts, noise, and other impacts that are related to construction activities. In our experience, confined activities in a relatively small area are desired and better

TOWN-WIDE UNDERGROUNDING OF UTILITIES PROGRAM MASTER PLAN DOCUMENT

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