Challenge
A large eastern utility sought to significantly improve electric service reliability and reduce restoration times following severe weather events. Thousands of customers experienced recurring outages due to overhead distribution lines susceptible to storms, falling trees and access limitations.
To address this, the utility launched an undergrounding initiative, requiring a scalable, safety-focused and quality-driven delivery partner to handle planning, field investigations, surveying, design, easements, permitting and construction support across multiple regions.
The challenges included:
- Assessing and converting overhead distribution lines to underground systems
- Performing large-scale field data collection and customer outreach
- Maintaining strict Health and Safety and Quality Control/Assurance standards
- Coordinating with property owners, jurisdictions and joint-utility partners
- Managing thousands of easements and detailed construction-ready designs
Related Services
Solution
TRC delivered a turnkey program encompassing planning, design, community engagement and construction support. Key solutions included:
Comprehensive Program Planning and Governance
- Our practitioners developed a project-wide Health and Safety Plan covering field investigations, customer interactions, easement work, design and construction support.
- We established robust Quality Control and Assurance processes, complete with discipline-specific checklists, interim review stages and final plan verification.
Field Investigations and Data Collection
- We conducted site visits to every residence within each project area, capturing 20–30 photos per property, meter assessments, yard conditions and potential underground obstacles.
- Our team gathered measurement data and created sketches for overhead removal plans.
- We completed over 70,000 customer interactions to support design and easement acquisition.
Surveying and Property Verification
- Our team produced 35,000+ easement plats, using county and city GIS mapping.
- We deployed survey crews to locate property corners, easements and proposed underground routes, supported by courthouse research for historic plats when needed.
Design Development
- TRC created detailed overhead removal plans and drafted National Joint Utilities Notification System (NJUNS) notifications for joint users.
- Our practitioners developed complete underground distribution designs using field notes, measurements and power pole data.
- We incorporated re-routing strategies for rejected easements and collaborated closely with Right-of-Way teams.
- The team utilized tools such as Katapult Pro and Hastings hot sticks to verify NESC clearances.
Easement Acquisition
- We partnered with the utility’s Right-of-Way group to obtain 14,000+ signed easements for underground lines and above-ground equipment including transformers and pedestals.
Permitting and Construction Support
- Our experts prepared and submitted permits for the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and local right-of-way entry.
- We performed construction staking, establishing control points and accurately marking equipment locations.
Results
Through a multi-year, structured delivery approach, TRC provided underground engineering design and program support that helped the utility successfully advance its undergrounding initiative. Measurable outcomes included:
- 950+ design projects completed
- 875+ miles of overhead lines removed
- 35,000+ easement plats produced
- 14,000+ easements obtained
- 70,000+ customer engagements managed
- Significant improvement in grid reliability and reduced outage restoration times
- Seamless compliance with the utility’s safety standards and overall program KPIs
- Consistently exceeded performance expectations while managing a high-volume, multi-region program