Primitive Electrical Distribution in the US
Posted by Max Dunn Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:58:00 GMT
We like to think that we live in an advanced society where the miracles of technology provide a high quality-of-life. However, the recent storm in California proved what a primitive electrical distribution system we have.
This storm was nothing special; it didn’t have hurricane power winds or particularly spectacular lightning. It was just a run-of-the-mill winter storm that we expect every year or two. Yet it was able to knock out electric power for more than 1.6 million people, of which 420,000 people still didn’t have power after a few days.
It is not hard to see why our power system is so antiquated – just look up in any neighborhood. There you will see power lines strung on poles, the same as they were a hundred years ago. This system is very fragile and will continue to break down in high winds and lightning strikes. We do have a better solution – bury the electrical cables underground, which will make them impervious to these common elements of nature. But we live in a fairly backwards country where we would rather suffer through losses of power every year and frantically send out crews to fix problems after they occur rather than spend the money to solve the problem once and for all.
Unfortunately, underground cables, switches, and other equipment is 2-3 more times expensive to install than overhead. In addition, inspection & maintenance is more difficult and dangerous. Outage and less serious system issues are harder to monitor and locate. Finally, conditions underground are different, but not always better than above ground – moisture in particular can wreak havoc on expensive UG cable. So the issue is not crystal clear – there are tradeoffs (everyone agrees that the view would be improved if those ugly wires were underground). However, I doubt Californians, who already have the highest electricity rates in the country, would be willing to see their rates go up significantly (probably 50% or more) to underground conductors.