Columbia MD, but the commute to DC isn't so great.

We are on the Hill, have buried lines, and have never lost power. But the air above our backyard is absolutely full of mysterious wires. Phone? Cable? I don't really know.

There are neighborhoods in Bethesda (Avenel, Springer Road among them) which were built in the 80s or later, when underground power lines were the norm. However, it doesn't do much for reliability, as the feeder lines are above ground and get hit in an outage.

Really you shouldn't base you decision on that though. If you find a house with above-ground lines and are worried about power outages, just get a generator. Where we live in Bethesda, pretty much all of the $1mln+ new houses come with one standard. They cost $10-20k plus a few hundred a year in maintenance.

I wonder if there's a map of this, or a website which gives this info...

Even if you don't see power lines, if it's a new development in a close-in area, the feeder lines might be above ground. My parents moved into a new construction neighborhood near Silver Spring and were thrilled to have buried power lines--but they still lose power with every big storm, because the old MoCo aging infrastructure is what feeds their shiny new homes.

(I live on the Hill, with buried power lines. Nyaah nyaah!)

Anonymous wrote:We have underground power lines and have never lost power but we are in Centreville. LOVE you, Novec!

+1

We used to be in a neighborhood with underground power lines but served by Dominion. We lost power all the time. We moved to a house served by Novec and have never lost power.

We have underground power lines and still lose power all. The. Time. I guess the line has to come out somewhere.

We have underground power lines and have never lost power but we are in Centreville. LOVE you, Novec!

Oh good lord. I'm the first PP and I wasn't being pro-Capitol Hill or anti-Capitol Hill. I don't think we need to beat that dead horse any more. Just making the point that a neighborhood does not have to be new construction to have underground power lines.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Capitol Hill is not new at all, but the power lines are all underground. Never lost power once in the 15 years I lived there.

Op is probably looking for a real house not a row house

Row houses are not real houses? Are they holograms or something?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Capitol Hill is not new at all, but the power lines are all underground. Never lost power once in the 15 years I lived there.

Op is probably looking for a real house not a row house

Well, then she can enjoy it in the dark.

Meanwhile, here on the Hill we'll be watching the story on the news and wondering, as always, "Why would anyone pay a fortune to live with electricity that is less reliable than in most parts of the third world?"

And, elsewhere, people will be reading accounts of robberies and murders on the Hill and wondering, as always, "Why would anyone pay even a pittance to live with crime that resembles that in the third world?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Capitol Hill is not new at all, but the power lines are all underground. Never lost power once in the 15 years I lived there.

Op is probably looking for a real house not a row house

Well, then she can enjoy it in the dark.

Meanwhile, here on the Hill we'll be watching the story on the news and wondering, as always, "Why would anyone pay a fortune to live with electricity that is less reliable than in most parts of the third world?"

Anonymous wrote:Capitol Hill is not new at all, but the power lines are all underground. Never lost power once in the 15 years I lived there.

Op is probably looking for a real house not a row house

Capitol Hill is not new at all, but the power lines are all underground. Never lost power once in the 15 years I lived there.

For me, it's a priority for a neighborhood to have underground power lines. My DH is not bothered by the look of above-ground power lines because he thinks it's a trade-off you have to make to get a decent location. (We both try to ignore how PEPCO cuts down so many trees or prunes them in odd shapes to avoid having to bury the power lines.)

Are there any neighborhoods that are good for commuting to downtown DC, but that also are "new" enough to have underground power lines?

Thank you.