Isn it better to place power lines underground?
FPL does not oppose placing lines underground. However, it is important to note that there are both pros and cons to building lines overhead and underground. The reliability of overhead and underground lines is comparable. For example, both underground and overhead lines are subject to lightning damage. Although overhead lines may have more exposure than underground lines to wind damage or collisions, underground facilities are prone to flood damage, especially in coastal areas where exposure to salt water could cause an outage. The key difference between underground and overhead lines is that it typically takes more time with underground lines to diagnose the problem and make repairs. This difference in repair time is best characterized in days rather than hours.
