QUESTION: Do you think PG&E should put all their power lines underground?
© Copyright 2007 – 2025 Claycord News & Talk
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QUESTION: Do you think PG&E should put all their power lines underground?
Subscribe to our newsletter!
© Copyright 2007 – 2025 Claycord News & Talk
Yes! Absolutely! ….and the associated costs should NOT be born by customers / users. The greatly decreased maintenance costs will save PG&E millions / billions – but later, after the undergrounding. They want us to pay for it up front then THEY will reap the benefit of decreased maintenance costs and do we think they would ever pass on that savings to us in the way of decreased user fees? Nooooooo … I could go on about this one
Right there with you on this one, domo. But I think we’ve been paying a bit extra on the rates for years to do “undergrounding” … It took the total loss of a couple of towns and hundreds of lives for PG&E to see the light… but they had apparently misspent those dedicated funds … Kinda like a government agency….hmmm? So now they are bragging about every mile of undergrounding they are doing in the forest lands….. ho hum, and bemoaning how much it is costing “them.”
My PGE power lines to my house are underground in Pittsburg already. Thanks
Seeno home? Marco? Developer – Money talks. It also makes a big difference if you have a city council with grit… and family in the trades.
Yes its a Seeno home, nothing custom, its in one of the highest elevations in pittsburg and we regularly get 30-50 mph winds in the evenings april-october that whip thru the hills, sometimes it feels like it may rip the roof off the house. Glad mine are underground, but we are in borderline fire area, several insurers wont insure us.
pg&e’s push to underground lines came after scores of people were killed in
Paradise California. Was and is a knee jerk publicity stunt, nothing more.
.
Had preventative maintenance been performed fire never would have happened.
No, it’s too costly. The cost can be as much as three to ten times the cost
of overhead power lines, and like everything else that costs extra, PG&E
will pass the cost onto the customer with an increase in our monthly bill.
If and when there is a break in the line, or if some construction company
digs into a line causing damage, it will take longer to repair and at a greater
cost which will result in longer power outages. Underground lines are also
susceptible to flooding and water seepage. The digging and burying of the
cables will cause traffic disruptions and delays, and the rough terrain, and
earthquake faults will also contribute to complications.
CC Water district is in process (or maybe has completed) laying all new water main lines in Concord, PG&E could have coordinated and laid power lines at the same time….. Except…. That would have taken entrepreneurial thinking by leadership boards and a city that was involved with something beyond the Plaza & Park and perks for friends.
The major problem now is that those poles are bringing the owners and original lease-holders of the poles and right-of-ways a pretty good amount of extra lease revenue from all the “wireless” -LMAO- phone and internet providers.
In new subdivisions, the dry utilities are almost always underground, all grouped together in a joint trench. This makes sense because they’re protected from impacts to poles, or encroachment by tree branches. Also, it improves the look of the subdivision and reduces maintenance.
However, putting the big transmission lines underground presents problems, especially that of overheating. A transmission line in an underground conduit needs to be cooled, usually with oil that has to be pumped. There’s expense, risk of leaks, maintenance, etc., so undergrounding of the big lines is not always feasible.
Maybe the massive transmission lines. If each individual house that has overhead service (weatherhead) needed to be converted………a new electrical panel would be needed costing up to $10k. Then the nightmare of trenching everyones yards.
Yes, but they never will because that costs money.
I really liked having underground power in Cowell, but that was done when the Crossings was built. Now, PG&E can put all their lines underground, but the ratepayers will bear the full cost, and y’all probably will not be happy with the cost.
If they start now they can be done before the CA. high speed rail is completed.
Very true
😂 😝😁
They should, but probably won’t be. That would cut too too much into the unconscionable massive mega salaries of the top PG&E executives(and cut into the money that PG&E uses to bribe the state politicians).
Follow the science.
Some places around the world does that, I think Europe is one of them to have that. Yeah, and I think fewer places in asia has that i believe Singapore has one of those underground line.. i’m not sure how well that work in the US though. It’s different
Only if it is practical in some locations. Like some have already replied it is costly. Besides maybe Elon will resurrect Nicola’s broadcasting electricity method. Then you will be able to get a suntan even on a cloudy day.
At the expense of excessive executive pay. Rate payers have already paid for it 10 times over!