page_title: Undergrounding
section_title: Variants
hierarchical_section_title: Undergrounding / Variants
caption_attribution_description: English: Former pylon transformer south of Markgröningen, today only used as switching pylon, coordinates: 48°53'45"N 9°5'12"E
context_page_description: Undergrounding is the replacement of overhead cables providing electrical power or telecommunications, with underground cables. It demonstrates the higher technology in developed countries for fire prevention and to make the power lines less susceptible to outages during high wind thunderstorms or heavy snow or ice storms. An added benefit of undergrounding is the aesthetic quality of the landscape without the powerlines. Undergrounding can increase the initial costs of electric power transmission and distribution but may decrease operational costs over the lifetime of the cables.
context_section_description: A compromise between undergrounding and using overhead lines is installing air cables. Aerial cables are insulated cables spun between poles and used for power transmission or telecommunication services. An advantage of aerial cables is that their insulation removes the danger of electric shock (unless the cables are damaged). Another advantage is that they forgo the costs—particularly high in rocky areas—of burying. The disadvantages of aerial cables are that they have the same aesthetic issues as standard overhead lines and that they can be affected by storms. However, if the insulation is not destroyed during pylon failure or when hit by a tree, there is no interruption of service. Electrical hazards are minimised and re-hanging the cables may be possible without power interruption.
caption: A former pylon transformer south of Markgröningen, Germany. Today, the pylon carries only a switch fed by two underground cables.
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