Central Kentucky homebuilders’ leader says underground utilities common in Lexington
Originally published by WEKU.
The Commonwealth was spared much of the structural damage compared to our southern neighbors in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. But the loss of power did affect thousands of households. Although significant outages occurred in the state’s second-largest city, many homes managed to keep the power on.
Underground utilities in residential communities historically have helped to keep the lights on. Todd Johnson is the executive vice-president of the Building Industry Association of Central Kentucky. Johnson said some Lexington neighborhoods built in the 80’s had underground wiring.
“I wasn’t around at the time where everything started kind of going underground. I would think that it’s probably aesthetics more than anything. In new developing neighborhoods nobody likes to kind of see the overhead utilities,” said Johnson.
Johnson said placing the utilities underground became more or less the norm in the early 2000s. The homebuilders’ representative said there is a higher cost associated with burying the lines. Underground utilities are often cited as being more storm-resistant when it comes to power outages. Johnson’s not of a mind to require that through state or local law.
“I don’t know that I would be a proponent for requiring anything like that. I think it’s the choice of the homeowner or the developer that wants to make that decision..that business decision,” said Johnson
The Building Industry Association leader added those green box transformers situated in neighborhoods, may serve up to four households. A Kentucky Utilities representative stated the Lexington area has significantly more underground lines compared to other parts of the KU service territory.
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Originally published by WEKU.
Republished with permission.
