[context: I’m in a small city of 6k people. This stupid town is known for constant power outages due to high wind and snow. Are they stubborn or is it really that hard to switch this small town to underground power so we stop having power outages anytime someone even sneezes?]
In: 38
Eli5: the reason in the US typically is due to costs. The rule of thumb for cost for underground 1 mile of distribution overhead lines is approx $1M where as overhead line costs on average while overhead installing can range between $100k – $300k per mile
Non-Eli5:
Electric utilities would love to underground overhead lines and typically look at selective undergrounding of overhead lines. The reason why utilities would want to start these expensive projects are because the work conducted is capitalized. For a majority of US investor owned utilities capitalized costs go into the rate base (what you pay in your electric bill) which is approved by a Public service commission or office of public counsel. These approval groups are meant to represent customers and protect them against utilities spending recklessly, causing unnecessary utility bill hikes.
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