Homes fed by underground wires, constructed in the 1970s and 1980s, were usually built with Direct Buried (DB) cable to connect electrical panels to the utility source. Direct buried cable is a system in which electrical cables were installed directly in the ground and covered with dirt. This type of installation is appropriate and safe, but can result in degradation of the cable over time and extensive repairs in the event of a failure.
The Home Direct Buried Cable Replacement Program is designed to assist homeowners in upgrading their electrical service to current state of the art, and provides utility cable and installation labor at no cost if the homeowner installs a new conduit. Often during remodeling, the homeowner already has a contractor making other improvements and it is only an incremental cost to install the conduit. The Anaheim Public Utilities will then pull new cable and make all the connections.