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PRINTER'S NO. 1866
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 254
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY STEELE, POWELL, SALISBURY, KHAN, PROBST, WEBSTER,
SANCHEZ, MAYES, HADDOCK, HILL-EVANS, FRANKEL, RIVERA,
BRENNAN, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ AND NEILSON, JUNE 6, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION, TECHNOLOGY AND
UTILITIES, JUNE 9, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Joint State Government Commission to study the
issue of underground electrical lines.
WHEREAS, Extreme weather events have been occurring more
frequently in Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, These effects have had an increased negative
financial impact to homeowners and utility customers across the
State; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has had multiple years with combined
disaster costs of up to $5 billion, which had never occurred
prior to the year 2000; and
WHEREAS, Since 2015, trees and vegetation have consistently
been the leading cause of outages and lost customer minutes in
Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, These storms routinely bring down trees and
overhanging limbs from canopy trees, which is the primary threat
to Pennsylvania's electric reliability; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania ranks fifth in the nation for weather-
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related outages, with over 82 outages from 2000 to 2022; and
WHEREAS, These storms may cause some residents to face power
outages that last for more than a week; and
WHEREAS, Much of the United States electric grid was built in
the 1960s and 1970s and our aging infrastructure is struggling
to meet our modern electricity needs; and
WHEREAS, One way to prevent extreme weather from affecting
our power grid is to explore the option of underground
electrical lines; and
WHEREAS, Installing underground electrical lines costs more
initially than overhead lines, but the underground lines are
less prone to damage and disruptions; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives directs the Joint
State Government Commission to conduct a study and issue a
report studying the efficacy of undertaking a Statewide project
of placing electrical and other utility lines underground; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That the study shall include the following: cost,
viability, geographic and topographic limitations, right-of-way
issues and land usage issues associated with underground
electrical lines; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission shall
consult with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission when
conducting their study; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission submit
the report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to
members of the House Consumer Protection, Technology and
Utilities Committee within one year after the adoption of this
resolution.
20250HR0254PN1866 - 2 -
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