Benefits of Undergrounding

Putting the utility wires underground serves many purposes. Some are purely aesthetic, some affect the system reliability, and others provide financial benefits. Here are some of the reasons to put the lines underground:

Environmental and Aesthetic -- Kensington is crisscrossed by an ugly mess of steel spaghetti. Spider webs of steel cables stretch over the canyons and clutter our skies.

Safety -- Wires in canyons pose a fire hazard. When wires and poles are sent underground, they can’t be damaged by swaying tree branches or Santa Anna winds that spark wild fires. Power outages are caused by lightning or tree branches coming into contact with power lines. Overhead cables are affected by storms and earthquakes. Collapsing pylons and live wires in the street are lethal. (See article about a recent incident in Mira Mesa.)

Another safety factor is the high voltage of the electrical wires that feed transformers (2,400 to 12,400 volts). These wires are bare metal, there is no insulation as there is on wires that go from poles to houses. These high voltage wires are a serious threat to our safety during storms, earthquakes and other disasters. These high voltage lines are much safer when they are buried underground.

Reliability -- With undergrounding we get all new infrastructure--electrical equipment, telephone lines, Cox cable and Internet, and street light wires. This will improve reliability for all of our utilities. In addition studies have concluded that underground utilities are more reliable after the initial installation, with as few as one third the number of failures as are experienced with overhead lines on poles. An overhead system is more vulnerable to storm-related outages, having poles downed by vehicles, and lines downed by tree limbs.

Property Values -- Undergrounding ugly utility wires will increase property values.

Cost--Undergrounding is very expensive to do – BUT we have already paid the cost to bury the cables – The funds are there and the plan is in place. WE PAID FOR IT in our monthly SDG&E bill for years.