The Critical Thinking Paper:

Undergrounding In Montgomery County

Jennifer Brummett
Honors CAP 9 English
March 20, 2016
Green Group

The visibility of power lines lead to power outages causing consequences regarding
failures in hospitals, environmental damages and loss of money in Montgomery County, which
could be resolved if the Edison Electric Institute would authorize Pepco to commence
undergrounding in Montgomery County. Burying power lines, or undergrounding, is a very
controversial topic, because of the possible dept Montgomery County would face afterwards.
This is a small challenge in a much bigger picture and undergrounding is the best and most
intelligent choice for the long run.
The United States have been contemplating undergrounding for quite some time now.
Many US cities such as Anaheim, California, have slowly begun to bury their power lines and
have seen sudden drops in the amount of power outages. Most of Europe has buried their power
lines and power outages are mostly out of the picture. Undergrounding will be an essential
solution as countries push to connect renewable power sources to grids (Electric Light and
Power, Going Underground: European Transmission Practices).
Power outages can be very dangerous when it comes to the health of communities.
Hospitals can only sustain patients for a certain amount of time when the power goes out. The
generators have a transitional lag of three seconds that have tremendous effects. [The]
transitional lag between utility and generator power time throws computerized diagnostic and
life-support equipment out of whack. Even a three-second disruption can be perilous to sensitive
electronic equipment (The Critical Conditions of Hospital Power, Electrical Construction and
Maintenance). As well as a transitional lag time, hospitals are unable to sustain a lot of power for
a lot of time. This means that if the power goes out for long enough, hallway lights, some

computers and other technologies will be shut off so that the crucial technologies many patients
may be dependent on to survive can stay on. In 2003, a heat wave killed over 10,000 people due
to the power outages in over 60 % of homes. Hospitals were unable to sustain so many people so
it led to the deaths of thousands.
The environment and wildlife of Montgomery County is being seriously affected by
power lines. As power lines become older, the probability of them falling becomes more likely.
Wildlife has been destroyed because of fires and electrocutions caused by wires therefore
destroying our ecosystems. Power lines and transmission towers kill hundreds of thousands to
175 million birds annually, while tens to hundreds of thousands of birds are electrocuted
annually (Midwest Energy News, Utilities Seek to Save Birds from Power Lines).
Animals are also able to see UV radiation, unlike humans. Recent research reveals that
power lines create large sparks of UV radiation resulting in harm to the wildlife which are
capable of seeing these large sparks. These glowing and flashing bands are seen in the sky to
most animals. In an interview with Dr Nicolas Tyler, an ecologist working at UTI explains
There are hundreds of examples of animals avoiding power lines. Now we know that, not only

do these clear-cut corridors mean exposure to predators, at the same time there is this damn thing
flashing at you (The Guardian, Animals See Power Lines as Flashing, Glowing bands, Research
Reveals).
Undergrounding may help our economy tremendously. Using a sample of more than
12,000 homes, Hamilton and Schwann found that properties next to a power line lost an average
of 6.3 percent of their value (SF Gate, How Much Do Power Lines Lower Real Estate Value?).
Now, 6.3% may not seem like much but it adds up. The average price of a home in Montgomery
County is 412,600 dollars, and there are over 700 miles of power lines in Montgomery County,

so it is very likely most homes in Montgomery County are near power lines. If the power lines
were buried, prices of homes would improve by about 6.3%, therefore, real estate in
Montgomery County would be raised to about 438,593.8 dollars.
Nevertheless, undergrounding is not all positive. If Pepco were to bury the power lines in
Montgomery County, hundreds of jobs would be lost. Since there are no more trees that need to
be trimmed or cut down, or power lines that would need repair, all Pepco workers would lose
their jobs in Montgomery County. Also, the average estimate for burying the power lines in all of
Montgomery County would be about 7 billion US dollars. Of course, Montgomery County
would be in serious dept afterwards. When you think about it, however, 7 billion isnt that much
compared to the amount of money we use annually to repair damages to power lines; 64 million.
Taxes would be raised slightly for a short period of time, but after that, taxes would drop
dramatically because of the amount of money not used for Pepco.
There are many advantages and disadvantages regarding the subject of undergrounding.
Jobs may be lost and taxes may rise slightly during the process of burying power lines in
Montgomery County but in the long run, undergrounding is the right choice. Montgomery
County can begin undergrounding with order from the Edison Electric Institute who can
authorize Pepco to begin undergrounding. Soon, hopefully, all power lines all across the country
will be buried which will exterminate all accidents caused by visible power lines. Failure sin
hospitals caused by power outages will no longer be a problem, our ecosystem will flourish
without excess loss of wildlife caused by power lines and our economy may excel without power
outages or power lines in front of houses. In other words, yes there are consequences to
undergrounding, but in the long run, undergrounding is our best bet.

MLA/Annotated Works Cited Page

Carrington, Damian. "Animals See Power Lines as Glowing, Flashing Bands, Research
Reveals." The Guardian. N.p., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/12/animals-powerlines-skywildlife>.
This source is one of the many that focused on environmental damages caused by power lines.
Power lines cause extreme amounts of UV radiation seen by most wildlife which is very
damaging to the biodiversity of our ecosystems.

Frumm, David. "Why We Should Bury Power Lines." CNN. CNN, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Feb.
2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/02/opinion/frum-buried-lines/>.
This source published by CNN is one of the main sources I used as a database. It explains many
of the costly reasons why power outages damage our economy as well as our population. In this
article they also include statistics on deaths caused by power outages.

Kaste, Martin. "If Power Lines Fall, Why Don't They Go Underground?" NPR. NPR, 1 Feb.
2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. <http://www.npr.org/2012/02/01/146158822/if-power-linesfall-why-dont-they-go-underground>.
This article reflects on the challenges and resolutions of burying power lines. It has helped me
support my argument that there are some challenges surrounding undergrounding, however it is
the best choice to improve Montgomery County.

McCartney, Robert. "Maryland Should Match Districts Move on Burying Power Lines." The
Washington Post. Washington Post, 1 July 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-should-match-districts-move-onburying-power-lines/2013/05/25/1c56d9d2-c4ba-11e2-9fe2-6ee52d0eb7c1_story.html>.
This source was one of the sources I used to learn more about Pepcos opinions on the
conversation on undergrounding. It also involved possible costs for undergrounding and the
future dept for Montgomery County.

"Out of Sight out of Mind." Edison Electric Institute. N.p., 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.eei.org/issuesandpolicy/electricreliability/undergrounding/Documents/Under
groundReport.pdf>.
This source is a 77 page study on undergrounding in the whole United States. It contains
information on all possible challenges, outcomes and benefits of undergrounding. The writers of
this study are also capable of authorizing Pepco to commence undergrounding in Montgomery
County, which was very helpful to see the bias, or lack thereof, in the article.

Plumer, Brad. "Why Most Cities Dont Bury Power Lines." The Washington Post. Washington
Post, 25 July 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/07/25/why-most-cities-dontbury-power-lines/>.
This source explains the cost consequences of undergrounding. It contains graphs of raises in
taxes due to undergrounding and approximate costs for undergrounding in Maryland.

"Power Outages Plague DC." CNN. CNN, 26 July 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/26/dc.storms.damage/>.
This source helps with data about deaths in Montgomery County caused by power outages. It
contains statistics about deaths and injuries from the power outage in 2010.

Siegel, Kathryn. "The True Cost of Power Outages." Yale Environment Review. Yale University,
6 Aug. 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. <https://environment.yale.edu/yer/article/the-true-costof-power-outages>.
This source explains that the power lines themselves are a danger. As power lines age, they
become more likely to lose power, as well as fall. This can cause fires, environmental damages,
and of course, deaths and injuries.

"Study of the Feasibility and Reliability of Undergrounding Electric Distribution Lines in the
District of Columbia." OCA. N.p., 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
<http://oca.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/oca/page_content/attachments/Study%20of
%20the%20Feasibility%20%26%20Reliability%20of%20Undergrounding%20Electric
%20Distribution%20Lines%20in%20DC%20(July%201,%202010)%20%20ShawConsultantsforPSC.pdf>.
This source is another study made to plan the Districts of Columbias decision to commence
undergrounding. It is a final report on the feasibility of the undergrounding project in DC.
Written by the OCA, this study of 126 pages contains data, photographs, primary sources and
graphs showing the devastation caused by power lines.

Tarimo, Robert. "Going Underground: European Transmission Practices." ELP. N.p., 1 Oct.
2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.elp.com/articles/powergrid_international/print/volume-16/issue10/features/going-underground-european-transmission-practices.html>.
This source reflects on the choices made by Europe to underground all their power lines. In
Europe, there are no power outages and all damages caused by power lines are non-existent. The
writers of this article are comparing the positive effects of burying power lines to the negative
effects of not.

Harrington, Mike. "EMERGENCY: The Critical Condition of Hospital Power." Electrical

Contruction and Maintenance. CEE News, 1 Aug. 2002. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
<http://ecmweb.com/cee-news-archive/emergency-critical-condition-hospital-power>.
This source was used for information on hospital power sources. I quoted this source as well as
using it for personal knowledge while writing this paper. This article included mostly statistics on
hospital power sources.

Lyderson, Kari. "Utilities Seek to save Birds from Power Lines." Midwest Energy News. N.p., 11
Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://midwestenergynews.com/2014/03/11/illinoisutility-protects-birds-from-power-lines-and-vice-versa/>.
This source was used in my paper for statistics on wildlife, specifically birds, which die because
of power lines. As well as explaining the statistics, it offers examples of how this could be
prevented.

Wolfe, Michael. "How Much Do Power Lines Lower Real Estate Value?" SF Gate. N.p., n.d.
Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://homeguides.sfgate.com/much-power-lines-lower-real-estatevalue-2979.html>.
This source is the main source I used to calculate property values in my paper. This article
contained very specific information collected by studies made by highly regarded people such as
Stanley Hamilton and Gregory Schwann, who work at the University of Wisconsin.