What chance is there of getting a (proposed or existing) powerline buried?
8.1 Cost and technical problems make it difficult to get a proposed long high-voltage line completely buried. Experience has shown however that several miles and some 10% undergrounding may be achieved. It is not practical to have many short sections underground, partly because of the need for sealing-end compounds; it is easier to underground fewer longer sections. 8.2 Existing low-voltage lines, for example local lines on wood poles, are sometimes voluntarily buried by power companies at their own cost. This can make sense when refurbishment is due, as the cost difference for low voltage lines is small and there are gains in avoiding bad-weather outages. High-voltage lines may be voluntarily buried when it is commercially viable and paid for by a developer, for example with the 400 kV lines at London Olympics sites. 8.3 Revolt is campaigning for burial of the worst cases of sections of existing high voltage lines in the UK on a priority basis within affordable and proportionate costs
