Undergrounding Overhead Cables - Overview

Wellington City Council has a policy to help residents with placing overhead cables underground or "undergrounding".

The policy is based on the principle that the people who benefit from undergrounding should pay an amount proportional to the benefits they receive.

Undergrounding overhead cables can make streets looks nicer and provide public safety benefits. The drawback with undergrounding is the high cost and the difficulty in deciding how the cost should be shared.

Existing overhead cables

Possible improvement with undergrounding

Council Assistance

There are three ways that the Council will help residents underground overhead cables:

• Funding - a $200,000 fund where residents apply to the Council for partial subsidies.
• Facilitation - Council facilitation of undergrounding projects initiated and paid for by residents.
• Combining projects - considering undergrounding in conjunction with planned Council infrastructure projects and park upgrades.

Utility Contribution

Before approval is granted for any undergrounding assistance, the Council will talk to utility operators about contributing funding to the proposed projects.

The willingness to contribute will likely depend on the condition of the existing overhead services and the assessed benefits to the companies putting the services underground. Utility companies are not obligated to pay for the undergrounding of legally established overhead networks.

Related Links

• Undergrounding Policy (70Kb PDF) | Text version (79Kb HTML)

Department Details:
Infrastructure