Aparently huge increases in annual insurance costs make it cheaper in the long run to pay the high first cost of burial and amortise over 20 years of the lot lower cost of underground insurance.
Underground laying of high voltage lines brings very very high costs as well as greater dielectric losses, and it costs a lot more to find a fault and dig down and fix it.
That said, many downtown areas went underground decades ago, and also placed the wire in underground tunnels with other services. The underground mesh is a very comple beast in many places.
There is cool tech to find faults near exactly. You just send a pulse down the line and wait for the echo then make some calculations based on the speed of light.
One of the most amazing things upon arriving in SF was how many ugly and dangerous power lines were strung all over the bay area. I grew up in a much poorer area but we still had underground lines. Everyone knew to call the electric company before digging, it wasn't an issue at all.
Disneyland, Disney World, and The Woodlands, TX (where I live) all require 100% buried power lines. The visual difference when crossing in or out is quite apparent. Buried lines improve quality of life for residents and visitors.
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 24.9 ms ] threadThis course of action appears to be a result of a recent wildfire that may have been caused by PG&E power lines
Everybody seems to think that burying power lines is a walk in the park. It unfortunate the the conditions have changed were it is now necessity.
One of the most amazing things upon arriving in SF was how many ugly and dangerous power lines were strung all over the bay area. I grew up in a much poorer area but we still had underground lines. Everyone knew to call the electric company before digging, it wasn't an issue at all.
Shouldn't confuse the issue with things like unintentionally starting fires which has other solutions.
In theory your houses 'share' would only be the additional cost of the distance out front to put underground, which you should get back on re-sale.
Plus a neighbourhood of beauty and the ability to plant large trees.
It has a cost, but I think people often pay more for less in communities.