WBJ: Report says undergrounding lines may not be worth it - but is that really what it said? - Washington, DC

Report: Undergrounding lines may not be worth it - Washington Business Journal:
Burying every overhead utility line in the District would cost almost as much as building rail to Dulles, but the work itself would disrupt commerce and the benefits — mostly aesthetic — are not worth the hassle, a recent study found.

Power outages in Pepco’s D.C. and Maryland service areas were big news over the summer, as many businesses went days without electricity after big storms blew through. The call for “undergrounding” has grown, but a report from Baton Rouge, La.-based Shaw Consultants International Inc., the subject of a Sept. 30 public hearing before a D.C. Council committee, found that burying power lines is a complicated, expensive proposition, and a jurisdiction’s strategy must depend heavily on its priority: reliability or aesthetics.