We've heard it before, and now we are hearing again. Are underground power lines the solution to Houston's weather-related power outages?
It someday could be, but is highly unlikely.
"Even if you live in a neighborhood that has underground power lines, at some point your neighborhood is connected to power lines that are above ground, the main lines" said Florian Martin, reporter with the Houston Business Journal.
According to CenterPoint, about 60% of their customers in the greater Houston area are served by underground power lines, primarily in the new neighborhoods.
The flip side of that, is the cost and how much the city would have to pay to put new lines underground.
"Putting lines underground is several million dollars, per mile" Martin told KTRH, "And if you put everything underground that is now above ground, you can only imagine how expensive that would be."
Especially for a city that is already "broke" according to Mayor Whitmire, and we don't know how much CenterPoint is going to have to pay in fines, and other upgrades, following the failed response to Hurricane Beryl.
Photo: Leonid Eremeychuk / iStock / Getty Images