Whatever Oregon’s energy future will look like, there is anticipated to be more demand for more electricity. And that is going to mean the need for more power lines.

Pacific Power is planning 180 miles of new high-voltage lines that will travel up from Southern Oregon and into Crook and Deschutes Counties.

Why can’t they just be put underground?

Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone asked that great question of Pacific Power representatives as they were explaining how they would identify the best route for the power lines.

The short answer is: cost and possible environmental issues.

And now the longer answer: These are the big towers of power. They can be 160-180 feet tall, some 40-60 feet wide at the base. Basically nothing can be built near them. There would be one tower at least every 800 feet or so. You can’t miss them. It’s not something you likely long to look at.

They also will be high voltage, 500 kilovolts. Electricity is transferred at high voltage over long distances because it minimizes energy losses.

Putting such high voltage lines underground can be done. You don’t exactly see them in New York City. Going underground has advantages. Nobody has to look at them. Nobody is going to drive or fly into them. It would help protect them from wildfire. And so on.

But Pacific Power and other power companies do have a responsibility to try to keep power costs to their customers low. Underground power lines are much more expensive to install and maintain. The increase in cost is variable. Estimates we found put it at a multiple of five times the cost on up. Way up.

There is significant disruption and tearing up of the ground, wide and deep, when going underground. Maintenance and managing the heat and conductivity of underground high-voltage power lines requires access — and not once a mile. Not far apart at all. A maintenance worker needs to be able to get into the vaults and make repairs. The needs for high-voltage lines are on a different scale entirely to the neighborhood power lines that may be buried near you.

It can be done. It’s not often the right thing to do.