Sources

The facts on this site come from the sources below. Each one is cited on the page where we use it.

  1. United Nations. Sustainable Development Goal 11: Make Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11. Accessed 14 July 2026.
  2. Hernandez, Samantha. "Isn't it better to just bury power lines? That may depend on where you live." CNN, 14 Sept. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/09/14/us/underground-power-lines-trnd.
  3. Klein, Joanne. "Electric users ask: Why not put power lines underground?" CNN, 12 Feb. 2014, www.cnn.com/2014/02/12/us/winter-storm-power-lines.
  4. Hu, Winnie. "Would Burying Power Lines Reduce Power Outages?" NPR, 29 Aug. 2011, www.npr.org/2011/08/29/140042767/would-burying-power-lines-reduce-power-outages.
  5. Brady, Emily. "As severe weather tests the grid, utilities consider burying more power lines." NPR, 19 May 2026, www.npr.org/2026/05/19/nx-s1-5734497/can-burying-power-lines-help-prevent-more-power-outages.
  6. FEMA. "From Overhead to Underground: It Pays to Bury Power Lines." FEMA Case Study, www.fema.gov/case-study/overhead-underground-it-pays-bury-power-lines. Accessed 14 July 2026.
  7. U.S. Energy Information Administration. "Power outages often spur questions around burying power lines." Today in Energy, www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=7250. Accessed 14 July 2026.

How each source is used on this site

Source Page(s) What it supports on our site
UN SDG 11 Home, The Goal Sustainable Cities and Communities. Targets 11.5 (fewer deaths and economic losses from disasters) and 11.b (infrastructure built to survive disasters).
CNN 2017 The Problem Hurricane Irma knocked out power for millions — not because plants failed, but because overhead poles and lines did.
CNN 2014 Trade-offs Underground lines run 5–10× the cost of overhead. A North Carolina study found buried-line repairs took ~60% longer.
NPR 2011 Solutions Ted Kury (University of Florida) on how burying lines cuts outage risk from snapped poles and falling branches.
NPR 2026 Trade-offs Utilities burying more lines after severe weather — supports combining underground work, microgrids, and smart planning.
FEMA Trade-offs Case study on when undergrounding pays off despite flood and corrosion risk in storm zones.
U.S. EIA Trade-offs Major outages keep reopening the question of whether reliability savings over time justify the upfront cost of burying lines.