For two decades I have been stating to put the power lines underground, it will pay for itself.

When the climate crisis is neglected by the federal leaders and not a national priority, it causes extreme economic damage and loss. Decades, it has been decades of repeated warnings. Decades of time that amounts to extreme neglect. The neglect of infrastructure investments over those decades has resulted in these ongoing tragedies. Neglect because of political dogma has to stop.

The installation of underground transmission (click here) lines costs more per foot than most overhead lines. Costs of underground construction can range from four to ten times as much as an equivalent length of overhead line. However, generalized cost ratios of underground to overhead options should not be used because costs are site-specific.

A typical new 69 kV overhead single-circuit transmission line costs approximately $285,000 per mile as opposed to $1.5 million per mile (without the terminals) for a new 69 kV underground line. A new 138 kV overhead line costs approximately $390,000 per mile as opposed to $2 million per mile (without the terminals).

A 2006 Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report estimated that constructing underground transmission lines ranges 4 to 10 times more expensive when compared to overhead lines of the same voltage.

The economic losses due to electrical wires above ground will compensate for an underground alternative.          

Obviously, (click here) I am all for any initiative that has the potential to reduce outages and improve emergency preparedness for electric utilities.  Let’s take a look at the advantages of underground power lines:

• Reduces outages because buried lines are not susceptible to damage from high winds or falling trees
• Looks better aesthetically
• Generates a positive economic impact by reducing outage-caused downtime for local businesses
• Can be coordinated with road repair activity to reduce excavation costs

And here are the disadvantages that come to mind:

• Installing underground lines can cost 7-10 times more than overhead lines, a cost that would likely be paid by customers in the form of higher rates
• Buried lines must be protected by conduit, otherwise they are susceptible to shortages from groundwater infiltration
• Buried lines can take longer to repair because the damaged area is usually more difficult to locate
• Undergrounding can be risky due to the presence of underground obstacles or other utility lines like gas, water or telecommunication lines.
• Underground power lines would not prevent outages caused by damage to high-voltage lines or tower.

As you can see, there is no clear answer here.  For a local community flavor to this argument, read this article about the strife over this topic in Stroudsburg, PA.

The ultimate question is this: how much are people willing to pay for increased reliability?  And the only way to find out is to crunch the numbers, make the pitch, and gauge the public’s reaction.  And get ready for a fight.