It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

What will it take for the United States to start burying utilities wires?

page: 1
10
<<   2  3 >>

log in

join
share:

posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 02:02 AM
link   
Year after year, winter after winter, storm season after storm season... people endure days upon weeks without essential power and utilities. This lack of service has a definitive cause and effect for each and every one of us. An affect that is stupidly easy to avoid. Burry power lines.

The simple refusal to burry utility lines costs more money on the long term.

How many times must KU, BGE, (enter whatever service you have) have to repair poles, transformers, lines, and grids because they refuse to start burying the lines? Do their employees enjoy working 16 hour 7 day shifts every time a disaster happens? Is it really more cost prohibitive to burry a line than to replace it every time a storm comes throigh?
edit on 7/23/2018 by EternalSolace because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 02:13 AM
link   
a reply to: EternalSolace

Agreed. Its stupid.. and ugly to look at. Never understood why we took the time to dig holes and erect poles when we could just bury them. It would save so many problems down the line. . . Pun intended.



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 02:14 AM
link   

WOODFORD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) - About 8,000 people are still without power in Woodford County as of 6:30p.m. on Sunday evening.
Woo dford County Officials Offer Resources For Residents Without Power

I’m just using my local area for reference. It potentially applies to everyone in he US... Why do utility companies continue to refuse to bury lines as they go down?



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 02:41 AM
link   
a reply to: EternalSolace

In California,all new construction have utilities underground,only place you see overheads are in old undeveloped areas,been like that since the 80's



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 02:47 AM
link   
It comes down to cost. $2million per mile to bury power lines, 400k per mile for above ground power lines. If the power lines are below ground, maintenance costs would higher for under ground cables.

I don't know why cities don't plan ahead, when they go to widen a road from 2 lanes to 3-5 lanes, require the construction company doing the work, to also make a trench on the side of the road the utility companies could lay down plastic pipe in to run power line through in the future. Lay down extra pipe that could be used to run fiber too.



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 03:11 AM
link   
Nothing bad can happen to underground wires?



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 03:29 AM
link   
a reply to: EternalSolace

Simple reason is cost to bury electrical lines cost 750.00 per foot. To run lines above ground 70.00 per foot. The cost would be so high that it would be higher then the total net worth of your local power company. Electric companies cannot afford the billions it would cost.

Then there is replacement costs involved as well. To replace an above ground cable easy to replace an underground cable very difficult. To replace a line between 2 transformers takes a trained crew a couple of hours. But if the cable fails underground they have to dig up the cable replace it then rebury it. This would take a week maybe more of they have to run under streets.

Ps one thing that should be done is all transformers need to be in faraday cages. This is far more important then burying lines.
edit on 7/23/18 by dragonridr because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 03:48 AM
link   
I 100% agree! Lived in Colorado Springs for 9 years, never had a power outage due to weather because they BURIED their lines! Ascetically, it seems minor but it also really improves the skyline to see that beautiful Pikes Peak Front Range!

a reply to: EternalSolace



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 04:05 AM
link   
If it is -20 in Alaska or Minnesota and the power goes out,how are you going to dig and get at those lines?

Its easier to hang a wire than dig into frozen ground.

I get what the OP is saying,I am just pointing out that there are places that it would make 0 sense to put them in the ground.


edit on 23-7-2018 by DrumsRfun because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 04:22 AM
link   
Rising seas? inundated vaults and fiber optics along with corrosion ?



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 05:01 AM
link   
a reply to: EternalSolace

I know this much they blow up underground and you lose your power. We have a buried power line that runs through our front yard. Our neighbor had the same thing happen. I believe they reroute the power somehow so you get your power back. Can take a bit. One more thing they dig up your yard, like mine and TRY to plant grass. They can't grow grass to save their arse.



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 05:14 AM
link   
We're underground and get lots of snow. Just finding the boxes in the winter is difficult unless they blow. If they blow in the winter it's a 2-3 day repair compared to above ground a few hours. The beach area about 2 miles south of us is the same kind of terrain lots of hills and trees. They fight the power company to keep them from trimming their trees but have nearly weekly outages. Theirs a few hours a month ours maybe a few days every couple of years.

I&M Outage Map




posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 05:19 AM
link   
a reply to: EternalSolace

In my area new construction also has underground lines. As someone else mentioned, it has been that way for at least a few decades. Only older areas have above ground lines.

It does make a difference. Previously we lived in a development that had underground, and we almost never had a power failure. Recently we moved into an older area, and occasionally the power goes out - once for 5 days.



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 05:20 AM
link   
Vast areas of overhead cables can be checked using a helicopter which can't be done with underground cables. Pro's and Con's for both but cost will ultimately be the deciding factor.



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 05:21 AM
link   
a reply to: EternalSolace

"Year after year, winter after winter, storm season after storm season... people endure days upon weeks without essential power and utilities. This lack of service has a definitive cause and effect for each and every one of us. An affect that is stupidly easy to avoid. Burry power lines."

They could also hold them apart using insulating rods made from non conductive material. The wires are tied to the transverse rod.

BTW, When the private sector is allowed to build and manage infrastructure like this, you get this cheap way of doing things. If it was owned by the taxpayers the power would run through the ground because it would been deemed to be safer and cheaper in the long run. However as we all know the private sector is only concerned about their profit of today and tomorrow.



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 05:30 AM
link   
a reply to: EternalSolace

The region I live in requires new construction to bury utilities. I think there was a pilot program in Grand Rapids Michigan that buried all utilities to see what type of impact buried cables have, especially with bad weather.

As easy as it sounds its is cost prohibitive to bury cables from current overhead lines. If I remember right around a million dollars a mile given everything that has to go into it.
edit on 23-7-2018 by Xcathdra because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 06:16 AM
link   
This is the kind of thing that would probably really need to be planned for new cities. I can't imagine the mess it would make in already established areas. They'd need to put them in tunnels or something so they could get down there and work on them if they had to.

Anyway, the power used to go out here all the time. Years ago the power would flicker nearly every day for no damn reason and would often go out for a few seconds and come back on. They really did some pretty major work on the power system a few years back and we've had like 2 outages that I can remember since then.

You can see by looking at the poles and so forth that they're much beefier than the old stuff.

Anyway, I doubt it will ever happen. Your house will run on batteries before they'll spend the money and deal with the logistics to bury every electrical cable in the country.



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 06:27 AM
link   

originally posted by: Forensick
Nothing bad can happen to underground wires?


In earthquake prone areas, very much so.

Where I live, not the US, there is zero chance of an earthquake but a high cyclone risk area, the last of the overhead powerlines were buried underground last year.

Not that the poles really blew over, they were recycled railway tracks



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 06:32 AM
link   
Here in the UK the 'National Grid' is above ground on tall pylons, but at city, town, and village level all wires are underground. You only see pylons in the countryside connecting the cities etc.
It's always been undergound like that in the UK.



posted on Jul, 23 2018 @ 07:15 AM
link   


Is it really more cost prohibitive to burry a line than to replace it every time a storm comes throigh?


No.

Gas lines are buried.

Most newer urban sprawl developements has underground utilities.

Completely doable, and logical.

I hate over head cable and power lines.




top topics



 
10
<<   2  3 >>

log in

join