Hi-Line Engineering, a Georgia-based utility consulting
firm, says ninety percent of new subdivisions are served by underground cable.
Sixteen percent of the 2.5 million miles of distribution lines owned and
maintained by electric co-ops nationwide are underground. This amount is
growing by approximately one percent annually. Underground power cables are
more reliable in storms and require less right-of-way maintenance because there
are no trees to clear away.
A significant number of jobs could be created bringing
America up to European standards in terms of reducing visual pollution and
installing power cables underground. Economists agree that infrastructure
investments deliver the goods for job creation and business growth. This is
why Obama's infrastructure plan
for $60 billion toward building and repairing like roads and rail lines to
create an estimated tens of thousands of construction jobs was a good idea.
One mile of single phase underground line costs $86,445,
while one mile of overhead line costs $60,909, according to a chart prepared by
Matthew Avery of CHELCO Construction Services, Inc., that compares construction
costs, a small difference compared to cleaning up after a storm. Damage from
Hurricane Sandy is estimated to cost over $20 billion.
Underground cables are entirely out of sight, except for an occasional
above-ground terminal. In addition to being less vulnerable to air-borne obstacles
like wind and ice, in downtown districts, they are more practical than overhead
lines.
________________________________
J.L. Morin is the award-winning author of Amazon's and
Occupy's bestselling novel, Trading
Dreams, free at Kindle.
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