The Trade-offs
Con #1: It's Expensive
Here's the catch: burying lines isn't a magic fix. First, it's expensive — really expensive. CNN reported underground lines can cost five to ten times more than overhead lines, sometimes more for high-voltage lines. That cost usually shows up on everyone's electric bill.
Klein, Joanne. "Electric users ask: Why not put power lines underground?" CNN, 12 Feb. 2014.
Con #2: Still Vulnerable to Water
Second, underground lines are wind-proof, not storm-proof. They're still vulnerable to storm surge and flooding — a huge deal in hurricane zones, since that's exactly where water piles up. Flooding can corrode buried equipment over time and shorten its lifespan.
FEMA, "From Overhead to Underground: It Pays to Bury Power Lines."
Con #3: Repairs Take Longer
Third, when something does go wrong underground, it takes longer to fix. CNN reported a North Carolina study found repairs to buried lines took almost 60% longer, since crews first have to locate the problem and dig it up before they can even start fixing it. So it's not "underground equals perfect" — it's a trade-off.
Klein, Joanne. CNN, 12 Feb. 2014.
Relative cost per mile to install — illustrative only. Actual costs vary by terrain, soil, and how densely populated an area is. Cities and utilities spend billions on infrastructure up front. The U.S. EIA notes that repeated major storms keep sparking debate over whether long-term savings from undergrounding actually offset the initial investment.
- For the cost problem, cities are spreading it out — undergrounding in phases over years or decades, funding it through small surcharges on electric bills, and prioritizing it in new construction, where it's cheaper to lay cables alongside water and gas lines that are already being installed.
Klein, CNN (2014); U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Power outages often spur questions around burying power lines."
Solving the Trade-offs
So do these trade-offs mean undergrounding is a bad idea? Not necessarily — engineers and city planners have ways to work around each con.
Strategic zones
For the flooding problem, the fix is being strategic, not universal. Cities don't have to bury every line everywhere — they can prioritize underground lines in inland neighborhoods with low flood risk, and keep vulnerable coastal or storm-surge zones on reinforced above-ground poles instead. That way you're not trading one disaster for another.
Pair with microgrids
For the repair-time problem, this connects right back to our decentralized microgrid solution from earlier. If a neighborhood is broken into smaller, independent microgrids, a slow underground repair in one area doesn't have to leave everyone in the dark — the rest of the grid can keep running while crews fix the problem.
Smart fault detection
Sensors and smart grid technology help crews locate underground faults faster, cutting repair time and reducing outage duration.