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By Jessica Richardson
Staff Writer For the past several weeks, Duke Energy has been replacing traditional poles with some much taller and with more crossarms and connections. Residents and commuters seemed not to have noticed except when traffic flow is interrupted by the work. Driving down the Highlands Road, it may be hard not to notice new power poles and lines that are being constructed along the highway, just past the 441 bypass towards Highlands. Contrasting to the traditional pole with a gray circuit box and one crossarm, these new lines have several crossarms and connections.According to Fred Alexander, spokesperson for Duke Energy Nantahala district, the purpose of the new lines is to replace the lines from Saunders Road to Ellijay Road and add a new circuit to take some of the customer load off of the existing circuit. The new lines are designed to meet future customer needs and improve reliability of the circuit, he said. He expected that the project would be completed by mid-February. “Improvements like this are part of the normal work of any electric utility, trying to keep the infrastructure in place so the power is there when residents flick the switch,” said Alexander. In Franklin, the town has been promoting beautification for the past few years with its membership in the Main Street Program and even a litter pickup campaign called “Yes We Can.” It may be surprising to see more power lines going up that are far from inconspicuous. People interviewed at businesses along the Highlands Road haven’t seemed to notice or be bothered by the lines too much. According to Alexander, some municipalities have opted to pay for the cost of putting lines underground. He pointed to Main Streets such as town hill in Franklin and Main Street in downtown Sylva. In his experience, counties have not been involved in a similar process. Generally, unless the municipality makes a point of it, the company goes about its business of replacing overhead lines and bringing power to customers without communications or approvals from local government. A company study was done a few years ago that estimated the cost of putting distribution lines underground at about $1 million a mile, which Alexander said wasn’t mountain specific. He said the last study done about five years ago put the cost of putting all the lines in North and South Carolina at about $40 billion.In the mountains, the amount of rock underground can exacerbate the cost of underground lines and often can require blasting for an underground trench. In residential areas, it is becoming more common for the developer or private property owner to opt for underground lines. Either the developer or private property owner takes on the cost of putting those lines underground, which would otherwise be overhead. As Alexander points out, that power usually comes from overhead lines to the neighborhood or subdivision. Could all the lines be put underground? “Certainly it is possible with the application of time and money. It would make a dramatic difference in the cost of electricity,” said Alexander, “and those costs would be borne by customers.” Alexander said putting lines underground would need a joint decision by all parties involved along with government representatives, the communities and customers. Duke Energy Nantahala District includes 1,729 square miles and services 72,000 customers in Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties. |
