ALBANY – A bill directing the State Public Service Commission to study the feasibility of burying all or most of the electrical, telephone, and internet transmission lines in the state has passed in both houses of the state legislature and is on its way to the governor’s desk.
The measure was sponsored in the Assembly by Jonathan Jacobson (D, Newburgh).
The lawmaker introduced the bill shortly after Tropical Storm Isaias caused widespread power outages across the Hudson Valley.
“The cost of burying transmission lines pales to the inconvenience and costs to individuals and businesses every time there is a major storm,” he said. “Workers lose time from work as businesses are forced to close to due a loss of electricity and internet connection. People must throw out spoiled food. Schools must close.”
Jacobson said burying transmission lines “will also encourage the transmission of hydroelectric power and wind power without the presence of unsightly transmission lines which currently foster opposition.”
