INC NEWS - on burying power lines . . . .

Tue Aug 26 15:37:03 EDT 2008

Thanks, Kelly, for that article. Buried utilities have come up in many of my discussions regarding ways to protect our natural areas, in addition to improving power delivery efficiency. A good point made my Cheryl Shifflet, is that we need to get utilities/power/cable/etc to work together so that they can bury all these utilities in one 'trench' (so to speak), thereby reducing the required tunneling through a development and saving trees and their root systems.

I just wanted to say that :)
Melissa

Melissa Rooney
mmr121570 at yahoo.com

--- On Tue, 8/26/08, Kelly Jarrett, DISC <kjj1 at duke.edu> wrote:
From: Kelly Jarrett, DISC <kjj1 at duke.edu>
Subject: INC NEWS - on burying power lines . . . .
To: inc-list at durhaminc.org
Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 1:33 PM

Greenville mayor open to outside negotiator on buried power lines

Studies show burying power lines reduces outages

Published: Friday, February 15, 2008 - 12:48 pm 

By Ben Szobody

STAFF WRITER

bszobody at greenville news.com

Mayor Knox White and some City Council members told GreenvilleOnline. com
they’re open to using an outside negotiator to make sure city taxpayers
get the best deal out of a plan to bury power lines currently being
hammered out between city and Duke Energy officials.

The Greenville News reported this week that burial experts say it's
crucial for the city to get an outside expert to negotiate the
groundbreaking agreement because utilities can be loath to share
information and resistant to change.

Ken Scarlett, a consultant with experience negotiating burials and a
recent city task force member on the issue, said the agreement on the
table may not address vital obstacles to widespread, affordable
conversion.

City Manager Jim Bourey and an assistant are currently handling a new
utility franchise agreement that would cost residents another $1 a
month
on their power bills to pay for a plan to gradually bury power lines in
some of the areas hardest hit by a string of deadly ice storms.

White said today that he’s open to using an outsider with deep
knowledge
of the utility business, but has yet to talk to Bourey about it. He
said
the city has already consulted some outside experts during
negotiations,
though "whether there will be one person, I don’t know."

City Councilwoman Diane Smock said hiring a negotiator is something she
wants to take a "good, hard look at," since converting overhead
wires to underground lines is not a particular area of expertise for
the
city. 

Councilwoman Amy Ryberg Doyle said she wanted to talk to colleagues
about
the idea. 

Jerry Chapman, Duke's general manager of construction and maintenance,
has said the company is "anxious" to begin burying Greenville
lines in cooperation with the city. 

Outages decline dramatically when lines are underground, although they
don't entirely disappear, industry studies show. The most recent
Upstate
ice storm in December 2005  the seventh major incident in 10 years 
cost six lives and plunged more than half a million local residents
into
cold and darkness. 

Following reports by The News, Duke agreed for the first time last year
to put half a percent of its local revenues  about $364,000 a year 
into a local fund to bury power lines, to be matched by the city. The
specifics will be in the city’s new franchise agreement. 

White said the city has used a negotiator on past franchise agreements,
but that in this case Duke’s financial cooperation has been negotiated
"at the top" with Ellen Ruff, CEO of Duke Energy Carolinas.

The biggest challenge now is to figure out the contsruction process,
White said, though Scarlett and other experts have said the burial plan
could cost city residents nothing if Duke first shored up an aging
system
of overhead wires that he said loses as much as twice the electric
current of the industry average in some areas. 

Chapman said the company typically doesn't look at line losses to
justify
system improvements, though that could change. 

Among the vital parts of any agreement is a long-term goal to convert
all
power lines, unfettered city access to utility information and the
utility's commitment to help citizens bury the service lines on their
property, according to Scarlett and Nathan Bruner, underground program
manager for San Diego. 

Bourey has disagreed on setting an ultimate burial date, but said the
city has received any information it asked for and is exploring how to
bury service lines. 

Bruner also said utilities are not allowed to install new overhead
wires
in San Diego except under extraordinary circumstances and that an
agreement should specify that buried lines go in the public right of
way
instead of through private property. 

Bourey has declined to comment on freezing overhead utility
infrastructure and said city rights of way are too cramped in some
cases.

White said today he agreed that lines should go in the right of way
"when feasible" and that the city has talked about limiting the
new poles Duke can erect. 

Overall, White said he’s satisfied that the vital specifics of a burial
plan will be included in the new franchise agreement but that
"there’s a hesitancy on the manager’s part to negotiate in the
newspaper."

Ellen M. Dagenhart, ABR, e-Pro, GRI, SRES

MailTo:dagnhrt@ mindspring. com

Marie Austin Realty, Durham, NC

1204 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705

http://www.marieaus tin.com

Office  919-286-5611  FAX  919-286-2252  Cell
919-475-1719 

Check it out!
http://www.durham- nc.com/www. wheregreatthings happen.com

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-- 
Dr. Kelly Jarrett		
Sr. Program Coordinator
Duke Islamic Studies Center
124 Franklin Center, Box 90402
2204 Erwin Road
Durham, NC  27708

Phone: 919-668-2143	
FAX: 919-684-8749

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