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Cost to re-do and bury all existing lines along with easements would be extremely expensive, and probably have to undergo environmental studies.
In my town all new developments must have underground lines. The main street in town was re-developed 10 years back and everything was moved underground. Other existing above ground lines are just repaired as needed.
While I would love to have all lines buried, especially since my area seems to have lines knocked down and power out for 3-5 days at least once per year, I don't know what the cost ratio of tree cutting and lines repaired yearly compare to the cost of moving below ground.
Homeowners own and must maintain lines from pole to house. The cost to move those lines underground would fall on the homeowner. When I built an addition to my house I put my service from the utility pole underground, but being an electrician at least did not have to pay myself. Material costs for the rigid pipe and new wire and digging the trench were still not cheap. The cable company tried to charge me to move the fiber optic lines, but I managed to convince them to cover it by threatening to switch to another provider.
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Ed
1973.5 T
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