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1、ExecutiveSummaryMorethan3millionmilesofelectricalcablesarestrungoverheadacrossthecountry.Addtothatatleast180milliontelephoneandcableTVlines,andit’snowonderhurricanes,tornadoes,firesandicestormsarewreakinghavoconAmerica'selectricalsystemseachyear,causingutilityoutagesthatlastdays,weeksandlong
2、er.Poweroutagesoverextendedperiodspresentmajorhealthandsafetyconcernsandeconomiclosses.Intheaftermathofthesestorms,thereisinvariablyanoutcryfromthepublic,thegovernmentandthemediatoplaceoverheadutilitiesunderground.Concernsaboutthereliabilityofoverheadlines,increasesintheirmaintenanceandopera
3、tingcosts,andissuesofpublicsafetyandquality-of-lifeareleadingmoreandmoreutilitiesandmunicipalitiestotherealizationthatconvertingoverheaddistributionlinestoundergroundisthebestwaytoprovidehigh-qualityservicetotheircustomers.AccordingtoareportbytheEdisonElectricInstitute,“almost70percentofthen
4、ation’sdistributionsystemhasbeenbuiltwithoverheadpowerlines.”Overthepast15yearsorso,however,“approximatelyhalfthecapitalexpendituresbyU.S.investor-ownedutilitiesfornewtransmissionanddistributionwireshavebeenforundergroundwires.”Makingsuchaconversionisrarelyjustifiedsolelyonthebasisofcosts.Fo
5、rutilitycompanies,undergroundingprovidespotentialbenefitsthroughreducedoperationsandmaintenance(O&M)costs,reducedtreetrimmingcosts,lessstormdamage,reducedlossofday-to-dayelectricitysales,andreducedlossesofelectricitysaleswhencustomerslosepowerafterstorms.Creativefundingoptionsareoftenavailab
6、letomakethegoalofundergroundingareality.Forsomeconversions,theevolutionofhorizontaldirectionaldrillingandtheabilitytophysicallylocateundergroundutilitiesusingvacuumhavebeenkeytothesuccessofmanyoftheseprojects.TheSituationTheheadlinesareeverywhere.InSeptember2008,heavywindsinOhiocausedanoutag
7、ewhichdeprivedapproximately2.6millioncustomersofpower.InDecember2008,icestormsinthenortheastcutpowertomillionsofcustomers.OverheadpowerlineshavecauseddevastatingfiresinSanDiegoCounty.Inadditiontotheutility’srestorationcosts,socialcostsofoutagesincl