Burying power lines provides us with a good option: Letter

The solution to downed power lines and long delays in restoring service is simple - bury the power lines. The French Quarter did not lose service during Hurricane Isaac for that simple reason.


The entire German power grid averages outages of 21 minutes per year because they have chosen to bury low and medium-voltage power lines. The power industry claims that it is too expensive to bury lines, but that ignores the human suffering and even loss of life that this decision causes.

The industry has claimed that it costs 10 times as much to bury wires as to string them, though studies conducted in England suggest that the premium is more in the 4.5 to 5.5 range. That cost is most reasonable in densely populated cities like New Orleans. Surely the high risk of outages on an annual basis makes burying lines more cost effective here than elsewhere. Consolidated Edison, serving the New York City area, claims to have the most reliable electric service in the world because 75 percent of its network is buried and safe from falling trees and high winds.

Flooding can increase outage times for buried lines -- Con Ed outages average 6 hours, which is longer than above ground, but far better than what New Orleans faces. At a minimum, buried lines should be required in new construction where the costs are about the same.

Entergy will give a thousand reasons why this is a bad idea, all of them aimed at protecting its profits - simply compare outages in the French Quarter to the rest of the city - we have our own test case. This is not a question of profit - it's a question of public health and safety. The City Council and city government should press Entergy on this solution.

Randy Sparks

New Orleans