It’s a problem nationwide, not just in California.
In coastal states such as Florida, hurricanes
topple poles and knock out power for days. And
in heartland states like Minnesota, it’s wintry ice
storms and high winds that bring the electrical
wires crashing down.
Crucially, though, it’s not a nationally regulated
problem. That means that across the country,
involvement and funding from the federal
government on burying and otherwise
strengthening community electrical grids have
been scattered and small-scale.
That’s because it’s state and local officials,
not federal ones, who hold most of the direct
regulatory authority over local electrical
infrastructure and local utility rates, said Ted
Kury, director of energy studies for the University
of Florida’s Public Utility Research Center.
Federal regulators’ role is largely limited to
overseeing high-voltage transmission lines that
cross state borders.
Nationally, a 2012 study estimated one-fourth of
new power lines are buried.