Utility Undergrounding Lifecycle Cost Modeling is a Game Changer

Harness a Data-Driven Approach to Evaluate Cost, Risk and Resilience 

As wildfire and extreme weather risks intensify, utility leaders are under growing pressure to make infrastructure investments that remain defensible over the full life of their assets. Long-term performance, reliability, maintenance demands and risk exposure increasingly define the true cost of ownership. A lifecycle cost perspective enables decision-makers to assess investments based on sustained value rather than short-term spend. 

While undergrounding utility infrastructure is often viewed as cost prohibitive at the outset, that assumption can overlook meaningful long-term benefits, including reduced wildfire ignition risk, fewer outages and lower ongoing maintenance needs. Lifecycle cost analysis can provide a structured way to quantify these trade-offs. Utilities can compare alternatives based on real operating conditions and long-term system impacts rather than simplified cost comparisons. 

TRC’s Lifecycle Cost Calculator supports this game-changing analysis by integrating capital, operations and maintenance, reliability and risk-related costs over the life of the asset. By modeling multiple scenarios, our tool helps utilities align engineering, financial and risk management perspectives, strengthening capital planning decisions and regulatory defensibility. 

Learn more about the benefits in our Insight: Hardening vs. Hiding: Is Undergrounding Always the Best Wildfire and Weather Solution?  

How To Use

Toggle the sliders below to test different scenarios and see the estimated lifecycle net benefits per mile of undergrounding. Additional information specific to each category is available and can be viewed by clicking the expand icon.