Overhead vs underground power lines (suburban, names, construction, problems)

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by NJ-201

How come there aren't any underground powerlines in the USA?
I live in New Jersey, and all powerlines are overhead, and they are everywhere, so ugly... except in expensive areas. In Europe, all powerlines are underground.

Is there any state/places that has underground powerlines?

Lets examine the bolded statement shall we?
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And there are literally hundreds more examples of overhead power lines in Europe.

[cheese9988]

They are overhead, but they seem to be behind the city lots so they are not too noticeable until you get outside of the city.

[Neuling]

Aren't high-voltage lines almost always overhead? Who could afford burying them over hundreds or thousands of miles?
Where there are differences is with the individual lines to streets and homes. Here in Portugal there are still many places where the lines swing from roof to roof
In Germany they are mostly underground. So I was quite surprised when I first saw the overhead lines here.

Found these maps, seems like there will be many more high-voltage lines in your country.

[DeaconJ]

Power lines are sexy...who DOESN'T get turned on by a tangled mess of cables & wires to look at?

1. One alternative is living without electricity. We would have to learn from the Amish. And Loretta Lynn.

2. How about a wireless electricity connection? Someone somewhere must have invented that already.

3. I'm pretty sure 99% of humans would agree that power lines are unsightly, but the expense of burying them outside of city limits is prohibitive...and it's much harder to locate the source of an outtage underground...and much more expensive to repair and underground line...and much more time-consuming all the way around. We should have wireless technology by now - that would solve the entire issue.

[Chicago60614]

In Chicago everything is underground in the central city, and it's all above ground in the rest of the city. The above ground wires run in the alleys that go behind every street though, so you don't actually see any lines walking/driving down the streets.

In Iowa there were some above ground power lines in older areas, but in my town most of them were all underground.

[GraniteStater]

Overhead lines, unfortunately. That was a problem when we received an ice storm this past winter. Many housing developments have underground lines, though.

[SilkCity0416]

It depends on where on lives. IN NYC, you will never see overheads in Manhattan, but you will see the, in the Outer Boroughs.

[MrMcCoySays]

overhead power lines are only look ugly if the area itself is ugly. but in an area that's hilly with lots of tall trees, you barely even notice them.

[CortlandGirl79]

Ohio has both. The subdivision i grew up in had underground. Where i am now they are overhead.

[Perfect Stranger]

Overhead lines are an unsightly mess. They can spoil the finest architecture and lanscaping, and they give a depressing Third World vibe.