The idea of ​​an underground power line in Houston borders on the unfeasible

Houston experienced a chaotic spring full of severe storms. On May 16, the city was hit by a “mini-hurricane”, otherwise known as a derecho, which caused considerable damage, at least eight deaths, and perhaps most seriously, it knocked out the electricity to nearly a million people. That was followed by another big storm this week, which knocked out power to nearly 400,000 people.

In the wake of these severe storms, people began to question everything. Train CenterPoint Energy on the aging infrastructure of our electrical setup. Many have floated the idea of ​​installing power lines underground. After all, we are a city in “Hurricane Alley” that hasn’t been directly hit in at least 16 years. We’re due for one, and a hurricane on an already struggling system would cause widespread outages, perhaps for months.

The idea for the subway lines came from people who have seen them in various areas of Dallas and see their share of tornadoes and severe storms. So why not in Houston?

Don Russell, a professor of electrical engineering at Texas A&M, says only a few neighborhoods in Dallas have this configuration and most of their lines remain above ground. The idea of ​​putting existing infrastructure underground also has a long list of obstacles.

“In developed areas, it is very difficult… you have to avoid existing public services underground… In addition, you have to demolish lines in perfect condition to put them underground, which therefore entails an additional cost “, he said.

As we know in Texas, a large project like this would not take a few months, but years, if not decades. Especially considering the surface area to be achieved.

But beyond that, it’s the cost that makes it an impractical idea. In California, a state prone to wildfires, underground lines are being installed in these areas. So far, the total cost of this operation is about $2 million per mile. That’s right, $2 million per mile.

In Texas, the second largest state in the country, that would be astronomical.

“Such a thing in Texas would cost tens of billions of dollars, that’s billions with a ‘B,'” he says.

Among all the problems, there is also flooding, which, as you know, is no stranger to us here in Houston.

“For underground lines…we used grounding transformers…if there’s a lot of flooding or hurricanes and salt water or something like that gets in…then you have real problems,” he said.

So until someone decides to give $50 billion or we build Houston somewhere new, airlines are here to stay.