Home Electrical power faults (question)

[brianl703]

FWIW and in keeping with the comments above, FPL now requires at least TWO ground rods at the meter connection to the house. I think they are to be spaced 6 feet apart and connected w/solid bare wire.

The NEC has always required two grounds (with one exception). That can be two ground rods or a ground rod and a grounded water pipe.

The exception is when there's a CEE (concrete encased electrode) aka Ufer ground, where the rebar in the foundation is used for the ground. This is what is required in new construction for at least the last 6 years.

None of this makes a bit of difference if there's a problem with the neutral, except maybe the water pipe ground. In that case the neutral current can use the water pipe, which is presumably tied to neutral at another house on the same street.

EDIT: Grounding on the customer side of the meter is not for FPL to specify or enforce. It's controlled by the authority having jurisdiction, usually the locality (county, city, township, etc).

 

[Cujet]

Not likely my ground is tied to a community water pipe as I’m on a well and neighbors are not close.

I understand the ground is not the problem. But it’s worth reviewing the ground rod setup.

 

[Cujet]

Update,

No issues in the house.

FPL came by and checked using the Super Beast, and found a neutral problem somewhere in the feed to my house. However, after the tech tied went up to the top of the pole, and secured the lines that had clearly fallen on the street light, the problem has miraculously "fixed itself".

He is sending a repair team out to run a new neutral.