ANAHEIM : Updated Plan to Bury Utility Lines Approved

The City Council has unanimously approved an updated $45.9-million plan to place overhead utility lines underground throughout the city.

The plan, adopted Tuesday, is part of a conversion program originally approved by the council almost five years ago. The program’s goal is to eventually move all overhead power lines underground in an effort to beautify the city and make the lines more reliable, said Ed Aghjayan, the city’s public utilities general manager.

Each utility pays to place its power lines underground, while the cost of converting city-owned electric utility lines is paid through electric rates, city officials said.

Mayor Tom Daly said the positive effects of the conversion program can already be seen along parts of Harbor Boulevard near Disneyland.

“It was a notorious vision,” Daly said of the overhead lines near the theme park. “But the undergrounding has begun, and there’s a lot more cleaning up to come.”