On 22/08/2013 18:36, wrote:
On Thursday, August 22, 2013 4:41:45 PM UTC+1, Java Jive wrote:
On Thu, 22 Aug 2013 14:44:09 +0100, "Tim+"

wrote:



Whatever they might have said, pylons are a *necessary* evil. There's not
an economic alernative if you want affordable electricity in your home.

They bury the cables in the towns and cities, why not in the
countryside?

At a first guess - the land is more expensive in cities and distances shorter, so it makes more sense to bury the cables. You could get quite a substantial house into the footprint of a 400kV pylon. In addition, I suspect there may be fewer complaints of electric / magnetic field induced illnesses when the wires are out of sight...
In fact there are pylons - and quite a bit of lower voltage distribution - coming a fair way into many cities and towns.
For example, this one is in Mitcham, which while not exactly central London, isn't exactly rural either.
http://goo.gl/maps/mkZLj

The buzzing of high voltage overhead lines in damp weather is also going
to affect far fewer people than a line strung over a densely populated town.

SteveW