Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what cost comparison he has made of repairing (a) overhead and (b) underground power lines following storm damage.

The benefits and costs of investing in under grounding power lines were considered following Storm Arwen in 2021. As noted in the Storm Arwen Review Final Report, investing in undergrounding would not be a cost-effective on long spur routes that serve smaller numbers of customers.

It is not possible to make the network be fully resistant to severe weather. Undergrounding comes at a cost of up to 20 times that of overhead lines, before secondary costs and disruption are factored in. Whilst underground cables are prone to fewer faults, they incur longer repair times when a fault does occur.