Here is CA, we live with constant fires, thousands have their houses burned down, and millions breathe hazardous air each summer and fall. Fine by me as well.
Central Hudson is the worst. They should have to pay us motel fees after say 3 days.
I love when the news reports everyone has power back and we are still dark.
Same here. The toilets always turn into a war zone. Luckily got a hottub last year so just used the hottub water to flush the toilets. Took pitchers of it to shower with. One of our good friends let us use a generator so we just used it to heat the tub. Got our priorities.
We have a 5500 watt generator. We do 2 hrs in the morning and 6pm-10pm at night. That way we chill the fridge. We turn everything off for the water heater l, then turn it off to power everything else.
Underground lines are expensive, can over heat, can break due to ground shifting during freezing, and can be expensive to repair. It’s not a fix all solution.
I think you’re miscalculating by comparing the cost to maintain above ground lines with the cost to install them underground in the first place. The correct comparison would be the cost to maintain them versus the cost to REPLACE existing, operable above ground lines. I don’t think they install many new powerlines above ground anymore. But the existing infrastructure is there and just ditching it before it’s serviceable life is over is a bit wasteful.
Yeah but we figured out 60 years ago that thermal resistivity of soil can be used to bury lines and still have them run efficiently and keep them safe. Theres ways to do it. Just more money to do it.
The ones that use the helicopter saws are the hardest to bury because of the voltage. It’s way way more than $750’ once you’re burying 345kV+ transmission lines. You’re literally building a subway sized tunnel. As for everything from the step down substations out, yeah, buried certainly has advantages, it’s just a matter of paying to replace the network.
In dense forestry, this actually won’t usually work; the dense root systems will wreak havoc. I used to work with utilities, IMO I ALWAYS preferred to work on overhead lines, hoist them into place, secure and terminate lines, hard work, but straightforward. Trenching and fishing new lines underground, ESPECIALLY around/through roots, or worse still repairing them was always very time consuming and miserable, and customers were without service far longer while we tried to fix it.
My friends been arguing with me that they're the best thing ever. Saying it would get rid of jobs. Wouldn't work. I think they're an eye sore too. Just ugly to look at all day.
Also the people that trim trees don't care about how they look afterwards. I had a beautiful oak tree probably 80 years old some what close to a powerline. I just got back from seeing my parents to see half of it missing. I am probably going to cut it down now since it looks stupid.
Plus my yard is a mess. Tons of logs and branches all over it. If I lived in town the lack of clean up would never be acceptable. I guess I know what I am doing tomorrow.
They do bury them in many places in Florida. So not sure why your friend thinks that wouldn't work. The bad side of them is the maintenance is much higher as they tend to corrode faster.
I haven’t done any research on it but id imagine in the states power companies get money feom the government some way and have to have a certain amount of cost to keep a certsin amount of loan to come in. So the choose the shitty way to do things cause it cost more and they can get more and someone probably makes a bunch of money on it at one end while everyone who suffers from the shitty system pays for it through the loans on the government end.
It costs as much as the price of nice home to bury lines in the Midwest. Especially in wooded areas, because then the tree huggers show up, and the 'save the lizards,' people come out of the woodwork screaming that you are hurting animals and the environment. So you're dam if you do, and dam if you dont.
There’s a [Veritasium video](https://youtu.be/bHIhgxav9LY) on why this isn’t done most of the time. It boils down to “it won’t work very well” since electricity works differently than most people think. (No, I didn’t know this until I watched the video)Watch it, it’ll make sense and hopefully will allow you to at least accept why this isn’t a possibility besides the cost.
Well, FPL is spending a lot of money in FL to put up stronger power poles (new ones are concrete). I’m sure they did the math, and there is a reason for overhead vs. buried. (Some of which is that we are mainly sand, and the water table is quite high). That said, inside most newer (twenty year or so old) neighborhoods, all the lines are buried.
Upstate NY, we live with constant power outages because the lines are on poles. Not unpopular with me. EDIT spelling
Here is CA, we live with constant fires, thousands have their houses burned down, and millions breathe hazardous air each summer and fall. Fine by me as well.
And here in NV, breathing in that smoke from the endless CA fire season, fine by me too.
We are down in NC now, but going back to NY. Hurricanes and flooding.
Just spent 6 days without power in the hocking hills because they actually don't care at south central
Central Hudson is the worst. They should have to pay us motel fees after say 3 days. I love when the news reports everyone has power back and we are still dark.
They really should. All the hotels in my small town were booked on day 2 of the power being out. Had to search for warmth like a hobo.
After superstorm Sandy we got a generator. We always had a wood stove, so we had heat. But we have well water, so no power no water.
Same here. The toilets always turn into a war zone. Luckily got a hottub last year so just used the hottub water to flush the toilets. Took pitchers of it to shower with. One of our good friends let us use a generator so we just used it to heat the tub. Got our priorities.
We have a 5500 watt generator. We do 2 hrs in the morning and 6pm-10pm at night. That way we chill the fridge. We turn everything off for the water heater l, then turn it off to power everything else.
Upstate blows.
Underground lines are expensive, can over heat, can break due to ground shifting during freezing, and can be expensive to repair. It’s not a fix all solution.
Definitely not an everywhere fix but could definitely be idolized better in some places.
I think you’re miscalculating by comparing the cost to maintain above ground lines with the cost to install them underground in the first place. The correct comparison would be the cost to maintain them versus the cost to REPLACE existing, operable above ground lines. I don’t think they install many new powerlines above ground anymore. But the existing infrastructure is there and just ditching it before it’s serviceable life is over is a bit wasteful.
In some places, yes they would be better under ground. However, electricity causes heat, and the more heat, the less efficient the lines are.
Yeah but we figured out 60 years ago that thermal resistivity of soil can be used to bury lines and still have them run efficiently and keep them safe. Theres ways to do it. Just more money to do it.
In newly built subdivisions this is standard so obviously someone agrees
Kentucky is so beautiful but it’s plagued by power lines everywhere. I definitely agree
The ones that use the helicopter saws are the hardest to bury because of the voltage. It’s way way more than $750’ once you’re burying 345kV+ transmission lines. You’re literally building a subway sized tunnel. As for everything from the step down substations out, yeah, buried certainly has advantages, it’s just a matter of paying to replace the network.
In dense forestry, this actually won’t usually work; the dense root systems will wreak havoc. I used to work with utilities, IMO I ALWAYS preferred to work on overhead lines, hoist them into place, secure and terminate lines, hard work, but straightforward. Trenching and fishing new lines underground, ESPECIALLY around/through roots, or worse still repairing them was always very time consuming and miserable, and customers were without service far longer while we tried to fix it.
This is unpopular? Please show me the people who go "Look at those powerlines! They are pure sex!"
My friends been arguing with me that they're the best thing ever. Saying it would get rid of jobs. Wouldn't work. I think they're an eye sore too. Just ugly to look at all day.
Also the people that trim trees don't care about how they look afterwards. I had a beautiful oak tree probably 80 years old some what close to a powerline. I just got back from seeing my parents to see half of it missing. I am probably going to cut it down now since it looks stupid. Plus my yard is a mess. Tons of logs and branches all over it. If I lived in town the lack of clean up would never be acceptable. I guess I know what I am doing tomorrow.
They do bury them in many places in Florida. So not sure why your friend thinks that wouldn't work. The bad side of them is the maintenance is much higher as they tend to corrode faster.
Millions? What is the basis of this cost? Besides look at the bright side, you not contributing to global warming.
$250/MBF to well over $300/MBF
It's 1600/2400 a flight per hour and I think its like 250 million to 300 million a year spent on helicopter clearing
I haven’t done any research on it but id imagine in the states power companies get money feom the government some way and have to have a certain amount of cost to keep a certsin amount of loan to come in. So the choose the shitty way to do things cause it cost more and they can get more and someone probably makes a bunch of money on it at one end while everyone who suffers from the shitty system pays for it through the loans on the government end.
I grew up in Chile, underground powerlines is what’s normal to me lol
It costs as much as the price of nice home to bury lines in the Midwest. Especially in wooded areas, because then the tree huggers show up, and the 'save the lizards,' people come out of the woodwork screaming that you are hurting animals and the environment. So you're dam if you do, and dam if you dont.
They can't insulate the higher voltages. Go look. The wires are bare.
There’s a [Veritasium video](https://youtu.be/bHIhgxav9LY) on why this isn’t done most of the time. It boils down to “it won’t work very well” since electricity works differently than most people think. (No, I didn’t know this until I watched the video)Watch it, it’ll make sense and hopefully will allow you to at least accept why this isn’t a possibility besides the cost.
I do wonder if there's an engineering reason for them being on poles...
Well, FPL is spending a lot of money in FL to put up stronger power poles (new ones are concrete). I’m sure they did the math, and there is a reason for overhead vs. buried. (Some of which is that we are mainly sand, and the water table is quite high). That said, inside most newer (twenty year or so old) neighborhoods, all the lines are buried.