Partnership with FPL produces business, investment and jobs

ORLANDO, Fla.  – Enterprise Florida joins S&C Electric Company in announcing the company’s $3 million investment to expand its Florida operations and bring 170 new manufacturing and installation jobs to the state. As part of this investment, S&C Electric Company will expand its existing presence in Florida and establish a manufacturing facility in Palm Beach County to build its TripSaver® II Cutout-Mounted Recloser technology that will be installed throughout Florida Power & Light Company’s smart grid network.

President and CEO of Enterprise Florida Gray Swoope says, “I’m excited to announce S&C Electric Company’s investment in Palm Beach County. Florida Power & Light’s commitment to enhance system reliability in the state creates opportunities for companies like S&C Electric Company to expand here. It’s important that we recognize the role existing Florida industries can play in growing the economy as well as the opportunities they create for supplier companies. I appreciate the confidence that S&C has shown in choosing to expand here and I look forward to seeing the company’s success as it grows in Florida.”

Based in Chicago, S&C Electric Company is applying its century-long history of innovation to create a more intelligent power grid. They contracted with FPL to manufacture new, state-of-the art equipment that is part of the overall “smart grid.” The TripSaver® equipment will help FPL detect and reduce power interruptions, and in certain cases, restore power preventing extended outages.

“FPL has made a historic first step in the utility industry by taking action to reduce momentary interruptions for its customers,” says Mike Edmonds, Vice President – U.S. Business, S&C Electric Company. “Based on government research, we estimate that the use of TripSaver II will provide as much as $500,000 annually in cost savings for electricity users on each main feeder as well as provide significant reductions in operating expenses that will benefit FPL and its customers.”

The new manufacturing facility, to be located in Palm Beach County, will add on to S&C’s existing engineering offices in Orlando. The first TripSaver IIs will be deployed on FPL’s system in January 2015, with additional units being deployed steadily over the next five years.

“Starting in 2015, we will install S&C’s cutting edge devices across thousands of neighborhood power lines to reduce the frequency of permanent and momentary power outages that are commonly caused by weather, vegetation or animals,” says Eric Silagy, President and Chief Executive Officer, FPL. “This device, which I am pleased will now be built in Florida, will provide us with more information, enable split second grid self-healing measures, and speed restoration when needed. Every time we use advanced technology such as this, instead of sending a crew to investigate and repair an outage, it saves time and money while also improving the 99.98 percent reliability rate we currently deliver. It’s another way FPL keeps bills low and reliability high which benefits everyone, including our business customers who deserve every competitive advantage that we can provide them.”

Florida’s advanced manufacturing industries are diverse and include sectors producing intermediate and finished products ranging from plastics to tortillas and motor vehicles. In total, Florida is home to more than 18,200 manufacturers employing some 317,000 workers.

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S&C Electric Company, with global headquarters in Chicago, USA, is applying its heritage of innovation to address challenges facing the world’s power grids and is thus shaping the future of reliable electricity delivery. The mission of employee-owned S&C is to continually develop new solutions for electricity delivery, fostering the improved efficiency and reliability required for the intelligent grid.