HB 842 and SB 270, recently introduced in the Texas legislature, would commission the Texas Public Utilities Commission to produce a study analyzing the costs and benefits of undergrounding power lines in Texas.

Both bills cite three specific reasons for commissioning the study:

1. During times of extreme weather, overhead distribution power lines often take on significant damage;
2. Underground distribution power lines are more resistant than overhead distribution power lines to extreme weather conditions; and
3. The cost of burying distribution power lines is significant.

Texas notably experiences many hurricanes from the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes such as Harvey in 2017 and Beryl in 2024 have cost the state billions of dollars in damage and irreparably changed citizens’ lives. One major impact of hurricanes is downed power lines. In fact, emergency response teams cite power lines as one of the most hazardous effects of extreme weather, causing delays in emergency response as well as economic and physical damage including power outages and even wildfires.

States such as Hawaii and California were recently affected by devastating wildfires that were ultimately attributed to downed power lines. Texas’s largest ever wildfire, the Smokehouse Creek Fire of 2024, was also attributed to downed power lines owned by Xcel Energy. The fire burned over one million acres, hundreds of homes, and thousands of livestock. In 2022 alone, wildfires killed over 4,000 people, destroyed countless communities and open spaces, and ultimately cost millions of dollars. Strategic undergrounding virtually eliminates the risk of wildfire from downed power lines, saving countless lives and millions of dollars in damage.

Underground power lines are considerably more resilient than those above ground. Putting both transmission and distribution lines underground insulates them from physical damage, such as fallen trees, high winds, lightning strikes, ice damage, and temperature swings. Overall, this means that underground networks are 97% less likely to fail during a hurricane, while experiencing 74% less outages and 61% less downtime.

Both bills seek to study three specific financial aspects of undergrounding: upfront costs associated with undergrounding power lines, costs of maintenance to underground power lines, and long-term savings from undergrounding. While upfront costs of undergrounding wires are higher than traditional above-ground wires, the difference in cost is made up by the decreased maintenance cost, decreased costs of vegetation management, increasing costs of climate change, and the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Maintenance costs are three to seven times lower for underground wires than aboveground wires, with the primary savings coming from the lack of vegetation management costs. In Florida, a state with similar hurricane problems to Texas, undergrounding was found to save up to $70,000 per mile per year due to the increased reliability and decreased maintenance costs.

The bills differ in the areas of study; the House bill wants to study areas near the Gulf of Mexico, while the Senate bill wants to study the four largest metro areas in Texas. Both approaches have their merits: areas closer to the Gulf will naturally see worse impacts from hurricanes, while the large metro areas would have more people who could potentially be affected. Either way, however, undergrounding will have a positive impact on community resiliency.

Texas bills HB 842 and SB 270 are a step in the right direction for exploring the benefits of strategic undergrounding in the nation’s second largest state. Texas’s hurricane frequency, wildfire threats, and existing grid issues make it an excellent candidate for mass undergrounding, and this study will provide a spark to improve Texas’s energy infrastructure.

Scenic America applauds Texas for taking these measures to pursue strategic undergrounding. We are confident that these studies will illuminate that not only do the economics of strategic undergrounding make sense, but undergrounding power lines increases property values and enhances scenic qualities of nearby areas.