ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090055
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: What's on your mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: With all the controversy about the overhead power line that AEP wants to run from Wyoming, W.Va., to Cloverdale, it brings up a question I have wondered about before: Why can't they run big power lines underground, like a pipeline? Seems as if it would allay a lot of the fears and objections.
H.D., Roanoke
A: American Electric Power's standard answer is that an underground high-voltage line costs too much. Also, it's never been done with a lengthy, 765,000-volt line.
The figures and comparisons to back up this claim are formidable, assuming they're correct.
An AEP spokesman in Roanoke said the cost for such an underground line would equal the value of the company's existing lines and equipment in Virginia.
The average customer's monthly bill might not have to be doubled to pay for the line, but it would go up a lot.
In Blacksburg recently, an AEP superintendent told the town and Virginia Tech officials that a 69,000-volt line had to be relocated, at a cost of $125,000 per mile. If the line were installed underground, it would cost $1.2 million - almost 10 times as much.
That cost difference is not just an AEP story. In the Los Angeles area, a municipal utility said last year that it would cost $1 million per mile to put a 66,000-volt distribution line underground in Simi Valley.
In Northern Ireland, an electric company said burying a 400,000-volt line would cost 10 to 12 times more than overhead wires and towers.
Electromagnetic fields - a concern with above-ground lines - apparently aren't buried with high-voltage wires. Power line opponents say some studies show these fields are associated with higher cancer risks.
In London two years ago, families sought legal assistance to keep a power company from using 275,000-volt cables it had buried in the road near their suburban homes. They had concerns about electromagnetic fields from these lines, too.
In addition, AEP spokesman Don Johnson said the environmental impact of digging a long trench is greater than that of installing towers.
Plus, in the company's estimation, buried distribution cables are less reliable.
Rebuilding churches
Q: I understand the National Council of Churches has established a fund for rebuilding the black churches recently destroyed by arson. Where can I send a contribution?
W.Z., Roanoke
A: Donations may be sent to the Burned Churches Fund, in care of the National Council of Churches, 475 Riverside Drive, New York 10115.
The fund, established about three weeks ago, has a goal of $4 million, a spokesman said.
Formally known as the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., the organization represents an array of Protestant and Christian Orthodox denominations with more than 50 million members.
Several donations have come from individuals, corporations and foundations, a spokesman said.
Have a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Call us at 981-3118, or e-mail RayR@Roanoke.Infi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.
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