utilities

Plan in the works to bury cables

Jorge Fernández/la prensa

unsightly: Unión Fenosa has submitted a plan to rid Panama City of its utility poles, but it carries a hefty price tag.1138842

The Public Services Authority has received a proposal from Unión Fenosa that estimates the cost of burying electrical cables in the city at $16.5 million.

In a letter to the authority, the electric company detailed a plan that calls for burying electric cables in the area contained by Vía España, Avenida Federico Boyd, Calle 50 and Vía Brasil. The company estimates that the work would take four years, “given the difficulties of building within existing infrastructure.”

The government has wanted to bury the cables and get rid of the unsightly utility poles that go with them for years.

In 2005, a Spanish power company filed a $10 million proposal for a similar project, but it was rejected by the authority.

In this case, Víctor Urrutia, manager of the authority, said that he “would welcome a reasonable investment” to create an underground network, as long as the surcharge on electric rates, which would be used to pay for the project, would not be too dramatic.

Urrutia acknowledged that he had received the proposal and noted that the project will help improve service quality and will improve the appearance of the downtown area. But he added that the proposal needs to be studied carefully to ensure that it is both affordable and able to be done without too many disruptions.

If approved, telecommunications companies would also have to bury their cables. This would allow the electric company to replace the unsightly utility poles with street lights.

Should the project be approved, Unión Fenosa would be asked to conduct a more detailed engineering plan for the project, which would facilitate the establishment of a more accurate budget.