In 2004 the City Council made a decision to move forward with the undergrounding of overhead utility lines – a great deal of the existing utilities are already underground, and by completing this process the city hoped to both further protect the lines during the hurricanes that impact this area and to hide the lines from view. Questions have recently been raised about the undergrounding issue, and while most of these issues were explored in 2004 further information can always help the public discussion.

One such question concerns the impact of flooding on the underground electric system on Marco Island. Although flooding will impact electric service in some ways this is not comparable to dropping a toaster in bathwater. The City Council was aware of this issue when making their decision to emphasize undergrounding of the electric utility system. The decision was based on a number of factors, including improved performance during lighting storms, tornados and major wind storms; reduced outages and damages from storms; improved aesthetics; lower tree trimming cost and improved utility relations regarding tree trimming; fewer motor vehicle/utility pole accidents; reduced live-wire contact; fewer outages during normal weather; far fewer momentary interruptions; and fewer structures impacting sidewalks.

This issue is highlighted by the experience of Caswell, North Carolina: In 1996 Hurricane Bertha hit Caswell Beach, and the electric company had already completed conversion of about 85 percent of the distribution lines to underground. Since then, seven severe storms hit the area and Caswell Beach has sustained no significant damage to the electrical system.

Although a storm surge is always possible, wind, not water, has been the major cause of damage in all of the major storms affecting Marco Island in its recent history. There has been virtually no flood related impact on electrical equipment or wires in this area.

An important part of this discussion is the fact that a substantial portion of the city is already served by underground utilities. Almost all condominiums and hotels on Collier Boulevard already have underground high voltage service and ground level transformers – many of which are not waterproof.

Undergrounding is also not a new topic. The electric industry in the United Stated has installed underground systems in residential areas since 1965, and in the past decade the industry has spent almost half of their capital investment undergrounding lines.

So the question we face as a community is where to best invest for our infrastructure? From a utility system perspective, damage to overhead lines happens far more often but is easier to locate and to repair. Underground lines require less maintenance and are damaged far less often, but repairs are costly and time-consuming. Underground lines can be damaged by flooding, and major flooding will cause electric outages and interrupt telephone and cable television services until the water subsides and contaminated equipment is cleaned. Wind has been the chief culprit for damage in this community in recent years, and downed overhead electrical wires, blown overhead transformers and toppled poles have to be repaired before service can be restored.

Across the country the trend is towards undergrounding of utilities where feasible because people are demanding the lower likelihood of damage, concern about safety considerations with removal of poles and equipment in the street right of way cleaner look of underground utilities. Despite the benefits of undergrounding, council fully understood that there is a cost-benefit factor that will drive the final decision as to whether or not to continue with the undergrounding project beyond Collier Boulevard and into the side streets. This is presently being evaluated through a small pilot project.

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