WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Some Winter Haven residents fear newly installed electric power poles are ruining their property values and health.
"All I see is a humongous pole, and they're much bigger than the regular electric pole," said Faye Bellamy.
Bellamy feels that the new Duke Energy transmission line poles are an eyesore in her northeast Winter Haven neighborhood. She also fears that the power lines stretched on 110-foot-tall poles will decrease her property value and be harmful to human health.
“I'm concerned because of the closeness of these humongous poles and the wires. I don't want to get sick with cancer,” said Bellamy.
The high-voltage transmission lines are part of Duke Energy’s Polk County Reliability Enhancement Project. The project's goal is to enhance the ability of Duke Energy and neighboring utilities to provide safe and reliable energy to homes and businesses in the area.
According to neighbors, they’ve had connection issues with their cable and cell phones ever since the power lines went into service last summer.
“We haven’t got a complete television program since they put the poles in power. Our phone calls are interrupted every day,” said Robert Gaskin.
Residents said they were never notified about the transmission line poles going up. ABC Action News obtained letters from Duke Energy that were mailed out to residents in April and December of 2018, announcing the project.
“The work that’s been done has been completed. We’ve been communicating about this since 2018. Even before we selected a route, we opened it up for community feedback,” said Audrey Stasko, Duke Energy spokesperson.
Still, residents insist there could have been better communication.
“I live in the Lake Maude area and knew nothing about them installing those poles in my neighborhood,” Bellamy said.
A study in 1979 pointed to an association between living near power lines and childhood cancer; however, recent studies found an association only for children who lived in homes with very high levels of magnetic fields, which is rare, according to the National Cancer Institute.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
