Really? I find it hard to believe that all of Manhattan is run off of medium voltage lines. If true they would have to run a lot of them into the city.
That said, the high voltage lines on the giant towers aren’t generally where the power outages occur, as the trees are below those lines and can’t fall on them.
“That said, the high voltage lines on the giant towers aren’t generally where the power outages occur, as the trees are below those lines and can’t fall on them.”
You’re right. So the question there becomes whether people are willing to pay TWICE what they pay now (for at least 5 years, if not 10 years) to get their existing lines buried, as well as the lower voltage feeders to their neighborhood.
I suspect that if you had that referendum, you’d realize why so many overhead lines remain. They may be ugly (to some of us), but burying them is neither free, nor cheap.
The tree line is cut about fifty yards either side of the power lines. It would take a damned tall tree to take one out by falling, but they do become debris in a windstorm