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posted by martyb on Thursday September 14 2017, @12:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the better-ask-Betteridge dept.

It is the height of a highly destructive hurricane season in the United States. The devastation of Harvey in Texas and Louisiana caused nearly 300,000 customers to lose electricity service, and Hurricane Irma has cut service to millions of people. Soon, winter storms will bring wind and snow to much of the country.

Anxious people everywhere worry about the impact these storms might have on their safety, comfort and convenience. Will they disrupt my commute to work? My children's ride to school? My electricity service?

When it comes to electricity, people turn their attention to the power lines overhead and wonder if their electricity service might be more secure if those lines were buried underground. But having studied this question for utilities and regulators, I can say the answer is not that straightforward. Burying power lines, also called undergrounding, is expensive, requires the involvement of many stakeholders and might not solve the problem at all.

Would burying power lines render them more weather-proof?

Read the full article on The Conversation.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by stormreaver on Thursday September 14 2017, @11:57AM (1 child)

    by stormreaver (5101) on Thursday September 14 2017, @11:57AM (#567746)

    A few years ago, AT&T came through my subdivision, dug up every yard that had copper wire (which is to day, all of them), and replaced it all with...new copper wire. So no, the "too expensive to be feasible" excuse doesn't make sense. If AT&T, the corporate poster child of customer neglect, can do it, so can the local utilities.

    Also, ALL gas pipes are buried. And wouldn't you know it, they never have a weather-related problem.

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  • (Score: 2) by nobu_the_bard on Thursday September 14 2017, @02:39PM

    by nobu_the_bard (6373) on Thursday September 14 2017, @02:39PM (#567815)

    They have weather related problems where I am; sinkholes that open during the winter thaw can break the pipes. In my local municipalities we also have problems with forgetting where the gas lines are (since many of them were never documented properly over the years passing through many hands) and then being surprised when the 100+ year old cast iron ones explode when a sinkhole clips them.

    I mean at least the electrical lines probably won't explode, I guess...