4.2. SR 06-15-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES 322 King Avenue Elk River, Minnesota 55330 Phone (612) 441-2020 Fax (612) 441-8099 To: Pat Klaers Elk River City Administrator June 4,1998 From: Bryan C. Adams General Manager, Elk River Municipal Utilities Subject: Underground vs. Overhead Electric Line Construction Pat, you asked about advantages/disadvantages of underground vs. overhead electric line construction. This was a general question in nature but asked in light of the pending School Street project. Elk River Municipal Utilities' unwritten policy is currently to construct all major electrical feeder overhead. Single or three phase taps off this major feeder will be constructed underground, where practical. This policy is not unlike many other utilities. The League of Minnesota Cities in their right-of- way model ordinance, recommend all utilities be placed underground. The advantage of underground electric line construction generally falls into three areas of aesthetics, minimizing damage from Ice, wind and tree trimming. The last two areas are highly related. Aesthetics are becoming more and more of an issue in all communities. Most people do not have the same affinity for overhead electric wires as us in the electric field. The out of sight out of mind mentality is becoming more popular that is understandable. Underground utility lines are less susceptible to damage from wind and ice storms, as we experienced in July 1997 and last week in the South Metro area. This causes a major inconvenience to businesses and resident until power is restored. The electric utilities response to preventing damage to overhead lines from wind and ice storms is to do a better job of trimming nearby trees. Tree trimming is an ongoing expense and often tends to irritate the property owner's whose trees are being trimmed. For your information, enclosed is a door hanger we give to customers before we start trimming trees in their area. This has greatly minimized the customer complaints. The advantages of overhead feeder construction fall into the areas of cost, ease of repair, timing of repairs, better sectionalizing capabilities and street lights. For major feeder lines it costs approximately 3 times as much (approximately $15/Ift for O.H. to $45/Ift for U.G.) to construct underground rather than overhead. The life of underground cable is 20 to 25 years where overhead life is approximately twice as long.