Interview: Bernard Paul-Hus

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Electrical and utility contractor says continued momentum to put power lines, fiber optic cables underground is a growth opportunity

What are the areas of growth for Hypower? From an energy basis, I am pleased to see there is continuing momentum to do away with overhead power lines as well as fiber optic cable and coax cable lines. Everything is going underground, and when the hurricanes come through, people do not lose power and communication as easily. What we are seeing is a combination of people just wanting their utilities underground and needing them underground so that they can get through these hurricanes much better. This costs between $40,000 to $60,000 per home in most cases. It’s a massive investment but at the same time, it’s also light given the damage that happens to homes during a hurricane, not to mention the inconvenience of not having power for three weeks, the lack of safety, the need to rent hotel rooms somewhere, and the inability to live in a home. I expect that will accelerate and we will see more of those projects.

In which industries have you seen a change in demand and what would you attribute that to? The primary reduction in demand has been driven by the inability to get materials at a price that fits the budgets that were established before the start of the pandemic. The price of everything from plywood to copper wire, steel and aluminum has gone up drastically. Transporting supplies has not been a big deal but getting the raw materials has been the challenge and this has not been exclusively due to COVID. The hurricanes have had a huge impact on anything like PVC, polyethylene pipe, insulation for wire and fiber cable on a supply basis. It is now getting to the point where it is impacting decisions on which jobs get shelved and which get built.

How has the pandemic a ected your contribution to the community? Supporting our community is a core value. As an important part of our company culture, our 400-plus employees have been involved in numerous events raising hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. In 2020, even during these uncertain times, Hypower decided to more than double down on its financial commitments to local nonprofit organizations. Clearly many were not able to sustain their charitable giving during the pandemic so we stepped up and doubled what we gave the previous year to help offset the impact caused by the pandemic. Afterall, we were allowed to continue working as an essential business. Hypower is a main sponsor of HANDY (Helping Abused Neglected and Disadvantaged Youth), 4KIDS of South Florida, as well as a significant contributor to Boys and Girls Club, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Construction Angels and many others.

Bernard Paul-Hus

President & CEO – Hypower Inc.

Brian Bates

CEO – Holman Automotive

There is a significant push from our regulators and our government to eliminate internal combustion, gasoline and oil usage. The mandate is a 2035 target to no longer sell internal combustion engines and shift to an all hybrid, electric or hydrogenbased product. That is a major shift in this industry. Our responsibility is to support our customers so we are product agnostic. There are some significant hurdles, such as range anxiety. The available charging station infrastructure may not be able to support a fleet of electric vehicles at this point but we know that is coming. We are looking to develop a capacity to manage that balance between government mandated regulation and customer need for transportation products.

( ) Ron DeSantis. Still, the possibility of a major infrastructure overhaul remains Biden’s top priority and the debate does not appear to be going away anytime soon. Biden’s infrastructure proposals that are relevant to Florida specifically include Everglades restoration and the repair of highway networks across the state.

DeSantis himself has shown that he is not averse to infrastructure revitalization. In May 2021, he announced the awarding of $150 million toward infrastructure improvements across the state. Broward County is expected to be the recipient of some of this largesse as new systems have been proposed that will address the problem of neighborhood flooding issues and safer water treatment operations. The flooding issue is an especially pressing one that will demand the attention of Broward County leaders for years to come as sea levels continue to rise and threaten the Florida coast.

Broward County has shown great initiative as it comes to terms with the reality of climate change. Since 2009, the region has had a Climate Change Task Force that seeks to include considerations pertaining to the environment in all its planning. In fact, the county was the first local government in the nation to include a standalone climate change pillar in its long-term planning. That has led to 82 environmental policies that grapple with how the community will face the economic, social and environmental challenges inherent in climate change.

One useful measure the Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department of Broward County has implemented is an online Resilience Dashboard, available to both the public and private sectors, which will determine the environmental viability of any development in the county. Such digital infrastructure will be key as the region fights climate change and will help reduce greenhouse gases as it fortifies the county against the adverse effects of development.

Water infrastructure in Broward County continues to have a stable outlook. While overall, the system receives 54% of revenue from wastewater and 36% from water on the whole, it proved resilient against the coronavirus outbreak. Revenue from water was not significantly impaired even as commercial use declined due to the lockdowns. This was all the more surprising when considering that, for over a year, the turning off of water services on account of past-due balances was suspended.

Looking ahead Fort Lauderdale and Broward County are growing fast indeed, but they have also shown that they are growing intelligently. The shock of the pandemic had the potential to send the economy into a deep funk. Instead, the leading sectors of transportation, logistics and infrastructure seized the opportunity to redouble their efforts at expansion. Thanks to a state leadership that opened up the economy long before it was the norm nationally, the region is uniquely poised to take advantage of what, by many accounts, will be a post-COVID boom.

Broward County is more connected than ever before and more prepared to meet the changing economic realities of the state. Flagship projects, such as the FLL International Airport revitalization, the Port Everglades improvements and the Brightline, demonstrate that the will for continued success remains a strong force in the region.

Healthcare:

Broward County’s healthcare systems largely weathered the challenges from COVID-19 but the landscape has changed. Telehealth has become a fact of life, for instance. By the first half of 2021, the focus had turned to vaccinations and fully emerging from the pandemic.