The recent power outages wrought by Hurricane storms in the US have reopened the debate surrounding burying electricity lines , or " undergrounding " . While a study found a quarter of all new electricity lines in the US and in some parts of Europe are buried underground , burying existing power lines costs about $ 1 m per year , which can not be passed on to the consumer . Instead , some US states are adopting a holistic approach , with improved vegetation management practices to avoid trees falling on power lines or fences .
The recent power outages wrought by Hurricane Harvey in the US have reopened the debate surrounding burying electricity lines, or "undergrounding". While a study found a quarter of all new electricity cables in the US and in some parts of Europe are laid underground, burying existing power lines costs about $1m per mile, which cannot be passed on to the consumer. Instead, some US states are adopting a holistic approach, with improved vegetation management practices to avoid trees falling on power lines or transformers.