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It seems kind of primitive to have power lines just hanging on poles, right?
Bit unsightly too
Is it just a cost issue and is it actually significant when considering the cost of power loss on society (work, hospital, food, etc)?
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this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2026
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Have you, personally, ever had to maintain something that is buried?
Because I used to think buried wires were the way to go, too. I am older and wiser now.
There are ways to do it that are not so terrible but the preplanning is immense and it would be difficult to implement in many places that are filled with lots of underground utilities already
I’ve also seen a few people around me bury the line from the pole to their house so it probably has to be done piecemeal like that if at all
This reads a lot like someone who hasnt had to dig a half mile long, 4 foot deep hole, where for the most part you cant use any heavy equipment.
The cost of just that labor alone would be immense, then you have to do all that again bare minimum for any issue. And thats even assuming the ground is ammenable for it, which is not the case for a lot of places. Sure you have to deal with icing or the occasional damaged pole, but youd also have issues with it underground. Sooo many people do not call in to check for utility line locations.
Yes the hook up from the city to the house can be buried pretty easily, but that wire is very different from the wire used on the poles at least where I live.
I do not miss construction.
... And yet almost all developed nations do it without any issues. ... And funny enough technologies like micro trenching work for most use cades.
Oh boy....
Most? Not true.
So, prove me wrong.
You made the claim you provide the proof
Looks like you have your answers! Many places have lots of underground utilities already (at least enough that they would have to keep switching between buried and raised, or just stick with raised), and they would have to change then over piecemeal.
It makes much more sense to stick to burying utilities with new construction where able, rather than replacing all the lines currently raised on poles.