Govt urged to bury powerlines
Govt urged to bury powerlines
02 May 2011
published by www.abc.net.au
Australia — The Victorian Government is being urged to consider putting some powerlines underground to ease the risk of bushfire.
Five of the Black Saturday fires that burned across Victoria in February 2009 were started by electricity supplies.
A taskforce looking into the issue has published a consultation paper which recommends insulating and burying some powerlines and giving some rural residents stand-alone electricity supplies.
If all of the recommendations were adopted, 7,500 kilometres of powerlines would be replaced or removed, at a cost of about $15 to the average quarterly electricity bill.
The taskforce says it is trying to balance safety with the cost of taking action.
The report was due in February, but was delayed when the Victorian Government extended the terms of reference.
Community meetings will be held around the state to discuss the paper.
The final report is due in September.
