Homeowners in historic Orlando district would pay nearly $30K a piece to bury power lines, study finds

ORLANDO, Fla. — The possible price tag is in, but are a group of Orlando homeowners willing to pay nearly $30,000 per home to bury power lines?

A 2017 petition prompted a cost study on burying power lines in the Lake Lawsona historic district. The study is back, but the results are not what people expected.

Neighbors complain about power lines above ground and between trees. They want them buried, but it will cost between $7 million to nearly $18 million to do it, according to this study.

In response to the petition, the Orlando Utilities Commission spent $95,000 on a feasibility study.

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GAI consultants came back and said it will cost about $7.27 million to bury power lines in just part of the Lake Lawsona historic district, which includes the Thornton Park commercial district.

To do the entire district, the price tag jumps to $17.87 million.

“There's a large undertaking of movement of trees and roads and other utilities,” said Tim Trudell, with OUC. “So, there's a lot that's involved. It's not just as simple as taking one power line and burying it.

And OUC wouldn't pay for the changes, neighbors would.

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There are 11 commercial properties, those owners would fork over $86,912, if the entire district goes underground and more if only part of it does.

The 584 residential properties in the area would pay about $28,970 apiece.

The City of Orlando said there are no plans to move forward with this information, but there are several funding streams, including setting up a special assessment.

OUC said the metrics used in this study could help it provide an estimate to other neighborhoods interested in undergrounding.

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