UK
Government plans to bury power lines underground in wake of Storm Arwen
THE USA NEEDS TO DO THIS TOO

Olivia Rudgard
Sat, December 11, 2021

The Government will consider putting power lines underground to make the energy system more resilient in the face of storms - Phil Noble/REUTERS

Power lines could be buried underground to preserve them from the effects of bad weather under plans being considered by the Government in the wake of Storm Arwen.

A review launched this week will examine ways to make the energy system more resilient after thousands of people in Scotland and the north of England were left without power for more than a week in the aftermath of the storm.

Ongoing National Grid projects are burying cables in National Parks and other areas valued for their natural beauty to remove the visual impact of pylons.

Campaigners called for more cables to be buried to protect them from the effects of storms.

Putting local lower-voltage cables underground can cost more than £150,000 per kilometre, with high-voltage pylon lines costing even more.

The Government said the measure would be considered as part of the review, set to report its findings in March next year.

Public ‘prepared to pay more’ on energy bills to remove pylons

Tom Fyans, the director of campaigns and policy at countryside charity CPRE, said: “Electricity pylons are one of the original blots on the landscape and surveys repeatedly show the public are prepared to pay a little more on their energy bills to remove them from our most treasured landscapes, such as National Parks.

“Measures such as undergrounding power cables instead are a win-win, in terms of improving the view and reducing the risk of disruption to supply due to storms and extreme weather conditions, which, with the climate emergency, are likely to increase in both severity and frequency.”

A spokesman for BEIS said: “Our review into how energy operators responded to Storm Arwen will consider a wide range of options, including putting more electricity cables underground.

“This is so that we can ensure our system, which has had £60 billion of investment by gas and electricity networks in the last eight years, is as resilient as possible.

“Extensive plans are underway to address the risks associated with climate change and we are working very closely with the energy industry to ensure they are prepared for future severe weather conditions.”
Managing trees more cost-effective than 'undergrounding'

Dave Openshaw, a director at energy consultancy Millhouse Power, said that other measures including insulated lines and managing trees were more cost-effective, as storm disruption is usually caused by trees falling on lines.

“The first preferable option would be to divert the line clear of the trees if you can’t clear the trees themselves.

“If you are going to ‘underground’ you’ve got to think about undergrounding a significant part of the circuit.

“But then you’re probably looking at a completely different route, because you don’t want to be damaging tree roots when you underground the line. So you might be diverting the line through an underground route, along the highway, and picking up the line at a different point.

“Some of that can be done. It is extremely expensive, and it would be pretty much a last resort. There’s probably better ways of spending the money to benefit the majority of customers.”

Randolph Brazier, the director of innovation and electricity systems at industry group Energy Networks Association, said: “There’s a balance that needs to be maintained when it comes to putting electricity cables underground, which depends on how we keep costs down for bill payers and the impact on the land itself.

“It’s important that electricity networks continue to work with local communities to help find the solution that’s right for them.”