OUC History Book

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RS STOME U C C ECTRI ERS 0 EL 0 6 USTOM , C 2 2 R E T 3 WA YEES 19,77 EMPLO 0 0 MWH 2 LLIONTED I M 1.4 GENERA NS GALLOPED N O I M L U L 3 BI WATER P OF

CHAPTER III:

A M E R I C A

1955

T O

T H E

1956

• Indian River Plant, Unit 2 is completed. • OUC begins burying power lines and replacing overhead lines with underground ones, along Colonial Drive, west to Texas Avenue.

request with the Atomic Energy

• OUC employee newsletter, the Spark &

Commission to join

Splash, debuts.

a study of the

M O O N

1964

• OUC files a

• Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 is enacted.

R A C E S

1950 –1969

1970 –1989

1990 –2010

O U C S E T S S I G H T S O N T E C H N O L O G Y, R E L I A B I L I T Y ollowing World War II, Florida was recognized as the last of the Eastern frontier states. By 1950, as Orlando’s population swelled to 51,826 (officially becoming a “metropolitan area”), the City had become the region’s financial,

business and residential growth. As America raced to the moon, OUC began to focus on new types of fuel and sources of water. The new Orlando Army Air Base and the arrival of the

powered generators.

OUC switches from surface water to well water from Floridan Aquifer.

1923 –1949

retail and transportation hub. Office buildings and shopping centers were built to support

possibilities of using nuclear-

1957

1875 –1922

• Glenn L. Martin Company decides to build missile facility

1966

research and production. As demand rose, OUC began a tradition of focusing on reliability

OUC installs first data processing system, the IBM-360.

and investing in new technology.

Glenn L. Martin Company in 1956 also put Central Florida on the map as a center for military Photo ASII-40-5875 Courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

in southwest Orlando.

1967

Setting Standards for the Future: OUC Pioneers Static Shield Wire

• OUC develops Handbook, formalizing employee policies.

1958

• Interstate 4 opens in Orlando,

Additions to the Lake

providing access to new areas

Highland Plant go into

of development in the northern

operation.

and southern regions of Orange County.

1960

• Air Quality Act of 1967 is enacted.

OUC always understood the importance of reliability — but during the 1950s, the utility

Although shield wire was commonly used

aggressively took this commitment to the next

for this purpose on transmission lines, its

level, investing in new technology that would

application on distribution systems was limited.

set standards for the future.

After an OUC study showed the process to be

For example, OUC was one of the first

the OUC system — improving reliability in

protect its distribution system against lightning

“the lightning capital of the United States.”

goes online.

1968 OUC opens new

• Clean Air Act of 1963 is enacted.

Administration Building

• 230,000-volt tie “interconnects”

and Customer Service Center.

OUC and FPL.

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effective, it became standard design throughout

utilities in the state to use static shield wire to

Indian River Plant

1963

strikes — a cause of frequent power outages.

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