Originally Posted by
mickjoebill
In the 1990's the cost of burying all the power lines in Australia was put at $50B.
https://www.aph.gov.au/sitecore/cont...IB9697/97cib11
In 2002 cost of replacing aerial with underground lines in NSW was $7500 per customer, if this was amortised over 15 years I believe it is doable.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/powe...30-gdfhx4.html
Roll on to 2019 in USA is $3m per mile (run buy energy companies rather than community) for distribution lines or $15k per customer
https://www.desertsun.com/story/news...ot/3937653002/
My point is that if aerial inspections are the solution to otherwise spending $15k per customer, workplace safety of those providing the solution should not be compromised. (I'm not saying it was in this incident)
Sad and frustrated to hear of two lives lost in what should be an unremarkable survey mission, I hope the cause was unavoidable, ie bird strike or freak mechanical failure.
Mjb
I think your figures are way too cheap.
When I worked for an electricity distribution company twenty years ago, our general rule of thumb for undergrounding overhead distribution lines was "$5k per span plus $5k each end"..
Just my $NZ0.02 worth