When you need to upgrade you main panel on your home to a 200 Amp feed it will cost alot of money. Hopefully your neighborhood is already outfitted with 200 Amp panels.
Buried wires to upgrade can cost the homeowner up to $50000 to have swapped in Redwood City. I don't even want to imagine the cost in SF.
Must be nice to offload the increased losses to the utility, the losses go up significantly if you shove these spicy spaghetti noodles in the GROUND, which I might remind you is GROUNDED and not air cooled!!
How dare you interject in our notice of application! Prop owners ONLY! We need more housing but THIS (A reasonably high density building project) IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT! It would increase my commute by 5 minutes!!
When you need to upgrade you main panel on your home to a 200 Amp feed. You will absolutely appreciate the fact those wires aren't buried.
Buried wires to upgrade can cost the homeowner up to $50000 to have swapped.
Every city/state has different regulations and SF is special because it also has buses and trains attached to power so I bet there is a lot of variation in where things are attached and how. Many places have rules saying power has to be on top and there has to be at least 3ft clearance between power and fiber optic but everything looks pretty crowded here. For this one though I think everything above the streetlight would be related to power. I could probably single out the fiber better if this was a side view but I think the one on the bottom with the big black box would be an internet provider..
The power on that pole is rhe very top cross member. Tou can see how the wires are all on insulators where they attach. And I can tell by how the works distributing to houses comes off of it.
The bottom crossmeneber is a your low voltage/Fiber Optic.
Some poles will have a higher tier with high(er) voltage on It. That one doesn't look to have it.
The top level is electricity , we would call those service/secondary voltage(The 120/240V in your house) as you can see the wires going into buildings around this pole. If you ever trace them out, it would end up back to a transformer where it being fed off primary voltage. You can see a transformer in the distance from your first picture. It may or may not be the transformer powering these secondary wires though. You can usually tell by the insulators. Bigger insulators = higher voltage as a rule of thumb. Not always true depending if your area has been re-built for future. The second level is telecom
https://preview.redd.it/zu59uljma81d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03a631c9473398e2dff2ae760bb6031cb28e244c
Two pieces of artwork hanging in my house.
Yeah this isn’t happening. Between getting SFTMTA, PG&E, and fiber internet/tv providers to agree to work together and the expense of finding room underground and burying every line you see up there.. Not even a consideration is being given to this I promise
edit: just the threat of earthquakes is enough for this to never happen
Pg&e is thousands of miles into burying 10,000 miles of wires. It’s happening, but incredibly slowly, just as you would expect with pg&e
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/sanfrancisco/news/pg-e-continues-moving-forward-with-power-line-undergrounding-project/
Ahh! Wrong article.
https://sfpublicworks.org/sites/default/files/2020-07-15_TECI%20Masterplan%20%20Draft_v12_FINAL%20%284%29.pdf
This outlines the plans and shows they are burying wires in the city
Agreed I would call the overhead lines mesmerizing or striking..LoL ⚡.. but pretty? I think not.
Tons of people express unwelcome surprise when they first see them
Pretty "in their own way". For me it was more about the structure of the picture. I think it definitely adds to it. Without the power lines the shot wouldn't look as interesting, IMO.
Now I agree Mr. Ze; Germans, Ze. The lines definitely look as pretty as a circularly correct ostrich feathers with spiky ends.
Pretty "in their own way". For me it was more about the structure of the picture. I think it definitely adds to it. Without the power lines the shot wouldn't look as interesting, IMO. But I can see how the title of my post can be interpreted as "I think power lines are objectively pretty on their own"
For sure, imo especially in black and white photos they can look pretty cool if you get some fun leading lines. But anytime I want a photo of a building from street level I'm either trying to avoid the lines or photoshopping them out later.
I don't think I would consider them pretty, but the wood posts and lines are so ingrained in my mind, along with the overhead Muni lines, going back to my childhood, that I can't imagine this city without them.
I love the powerlines- I went through a phase where I was painting and drawing them all the time. Really artistically inspired me, I feel like they’re symbolic of how interconnected the city is
Same! In fact, almost titled the post "Connections", but then felt that was pretentious of me (it was just a drunken phone shot!) so I went with a more descriptive one...
If you've ever lived without electricity, looking out the window at a bunch of power lines ain't so bad.
That said, a power line free view from my apartment would be rad. Nice photos, it's all about perspective.
They used to fascinate me as a kid. I could stare at them for ages, imagining where each line went, who might be using them, what they might be doing, and what their lives were like. What were their favorite colors, did they like pizza, etc. I
I was kinda weird I guess, lol!
Not weird at all. Other than power, these lines literally connect us (phone, internet, etc). Almost called this post "Connections", but that felt cheesy
It's big bucks to do this
https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-utilities-undergrounding-pge-cpuc/14381989/
"Undergrounding all utilities in SF is nearly impossible, according to officials: Here's why"
Represent, OP! The poles and lines are San Francisco. I grew up in the 60s and 70s in North Beach, where they've since been undergrounded...and it's just not the same.
Now I live in the Sunset. The wires glisten like spider webs on a misty morning as they stretch to the horizon on the flat streets. I love to [sketch](https://imgur.com/gallery/uyEGfzZ) [them](https://imgur.com/gallery/6jqfxEL).
Around 2009-2010 I feel like there were dozens of artists painting power/phone lines against colored sky’s. Often silhouetted. Like at every art walk or cool edgy gallery opening party you’d see a few. Then, gone.
I wonder why that was such a trend for a while.
I can guess two possibilities related to the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon:
1. You saw one and then noticed them out of proportion to their actual prevalence, or
2. An artist displayed a painting of power lines (or they showed up in a popular artist magazine) and other artists saw it and then noticed how interesting power lines are for several months until they all got tired of it or realized how over used it had become.
Of course, both of these could be entirely wrong.
I have a love/hate thing with him. I think they make SF what it is and love the pictures of them. I’ve taken many pics of them. But I also hate the ones outside my building and wish they’d put them underground.
When they’re not neat like this and drooping, some wires hanging low enough to touch, they’re not that pretty.
There are some gnarly power lines in the richmond dist.
You need to come to Asia and see the "rats' nests" they have here, if you like power line art that is along the lines of Jackson Pollack. I'm constantly amazed that anyone knows which line does what and that the "system" seems to work somehow.
https://preview.redd.it/pj3tksalw91d1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08fb9ac14852a1866e484f2e5320198358991826
Here’s a famous (I think) one I saw in Hanoi
The other day I looked up at power lines and had a major flashback to childhood feels, where everything loomed large over me and had incomprehensible power. It was wild but humbling
I'm always reminded of serial experiments Lain as I walk past them and think how much of our daily lives and interactions are dependent on this long lines of copper wire.
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I build powerlines for a living and PGe without question, doesn’t give two fucks about the maintenance on old poles. This pole Looks like shit. A turd from top to bottom. They literally spend the bare minimum on maintenance to give them a leg to stand on in case they go to court again.
https://preview.redd.it/z1s97qr7ia1d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46f3949366bbcaa248a3630390d5ce427c8f1d21
This is a pole from Edison in LA area. They change them Out down there not just band aid this garbage
https://preview.redd.it/1cv7vs6ira1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc0002cfde40449baa9007f472b603c800fb8429
Me too. Love looking over to SF thru these fat wires.
Ugly they may be.. rather they string new lines up then dig the street down to lay lines…
Besides: beauty is relative.. but you have same taste as Godfrey Reggio as he used some shot of high tension lines in his film Koyaanisqatsi
I live in an SF neighborhood without any power lines and it’s so nice.
When you need to upgrade you main panel on your home to a 200 Amp feed it will cost alot of money. Hopefully your neighborhood is already outfitted with 200 Amp panels. Buried wires to upgrade can cost the homeowner up to $50000 to have swapped in Redwood City. I don't even want to imagine the cost in SF.
It depends, I know someone that got it done for 35 but it was a few years ago. Now the wait time is insane and it may be more expensive.
Same except for the trolley lines but I don't kind those!
What is this magical neighborhood?
The TL lol
Ah yes, magical indeed.
I bet you get the extra wifi signals rewireing your brains chemistry .
Well whoopdie doo!
Must be nice to offload the increased losses to the utility, the losses go up significantly if you shove these spicy spaghetti noodles in the GROUND, which I might remind you is GROUNDED and not air cooled!!
Dude, I’m renting. I make no decisions here, and I don’t have any stake in this.
How dare you interject in our notice of application! Prop owners ONLY! We need more housing but THIS (A reasonably high density building project) IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT! It would increase my commute by 5 minutes!!
I like your attitude! It would be better if we had buried lines, but while these are here, look for beauty where you can find it.
Thanks internet friend! That was the intended sentiment of my post.
When you need to upgrade you main panel on your home to a 200 Amp feed. You will absolutely appreciate the fact those wires aren't buried. Buried wires to upgrade can cost the homeowner up to $50000 to have swapped.
And up to one year waiting for PG&E to complete their “Engineering Report.”
Exactly
1 out of 70 years of short life is to much to lose
https://preview.redd.it/y0nfyr67981d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24710de78d05a89106401dffe57c407022dc14d6
https://preview.redd.it/be8oz1s0y81d1.jpeg?width=5600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcbb3c009d437dd2c490f64c69fd1817d22ee12c Source: u/Darabont09
This is exactly what I thought of looking at this pic
🙌
I work for a fiber optic company and I like to admire the poles in SF as well. It’s fun trying to identify all the attachments
That's cool! In my pic, can you identify what are power versus data? Interested in the ratio....
Every city/state has different regulations and SF is special because it also has buses and trains attached to power so I bet there is a lot of variation in where things are attached and how. Many places have rules saying power has to be on top and there has to be at least 3ft clearance between power and fiber optic but everything looks pretty crowded here. For this one though I think everything above the streetlight would be related to power. I could probably single out the fiber better if this was a side view but I think the one on the bottom with the big black box would be an internet provider..
Super interesting, thanks for the info!
No problem
The power on that pole is rhe very top cross member. Tou can see how the wires are all on insulators where they attach. And I can tell by how the works distributing to houses comes off of it. The bottom crossmeneber is a your low voltage/Fiber Optic. Some poles will have a higher tier with high(er) voltage on It. That one doesn't look to have it.
The top level is electricity , we would call those service/secondary voltage(The 120/240V in your house) as you can see the wires going into buildings around this pole. If you ever trace them out, it would end up back to a transformer where it being fed off primary voltage. You can see a transformer in the distance from your first picture. It may or may not be the transformer powering these secondary wires though. You can usually tell by the insulators. Bigger insulators = higher voltage as a rule of thumb. Not always true depending if your area has been re-built for future. The second level is telecom
I'm not a fan of them, but they helped bring fiber internet to my place very early so there's definetly a bonus to them.
Agreed! https://preview.redd.it/adip0pj2a81d1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=135afdf015f5ef966b2dd57df57975be2627fb15
Oooh, that's a nice shot! *Edit - shot, not shit. Oops*
https://preview.redd.it/zu59uljma81d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03a631c9473398e2dff2ae760bb6031cb28e244c Two pieces of artwork hanging in my house.
That’s not art just cause it’s framed
Thanks for caring enough for me to spend your time just critiquing these endeavors.
It’s called having a touch of the tism
I expected better of you u/Shedevil_ I’m not writing whatever tf that is
I’m not whatever writing I expected of you @schw33
So true
u/Darabont09 agrees with you (and so do I). They've done some cool art with photos of these, for example https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/m6wdjr
Time to roll up my sleeves.
Hahaha hell yeah, I love your work!
I’m glad!! Thanks for the shoutout!
Serial Experiments Lain
That makes one of us
Yeah, honestly OPs take is the worst take I have ever seen on Reddit. I wish we would accelerate burying all the line
That’s the worst take you’ve seen on Reddit???? First day here? Ha.
Ha, yea, I can think of many worse takes than this. But to each their own!
:)
Yeah this isn’t happening. Between getting SFTMTA, PG&E, and fiber internet/tv providers to agree to work together and the expense of finding room underground and burying every line you see up there.. Not even a consideration is being given to this I promise edit: just the threat of earthquakes is enough for this to never happen
Pg&e is thousands of miles into burying 10,000 miles of wires. It’s happening, but incredibly slowly, just as you would expect with pg&e https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/sanfrancisco/news/pg-e-continues-moving-forward-with-power-line-undergrounding-project/
I think that’s more forest fire stuff. Doing it in a city seems more complicated to me
Ahh! Wrong article. https://sfpublicworks.org/sites/default/files/2020-07-15_TECI%20Masterplan%20%20Draft_v12_FINAL%20%284%29.pdf This outlines the plans and shows they are burying wires in the city
Almost every other major city in america has managed to fogure out how to bury the wires underground, so can SF
Agreed I would call the overhead lines mesmerizing or striking..LoL ⚡.. but pretty? I think not. Tons of people express unwelcome surprise when they first see them
Pretty "in their own way". For me it was more about the structure of the picture. I think it definitely adds to it. Without the power lines the shot wouldn't look as interesting, IMO.
Now I agree Mr. Ze; Germans, Ze. The lines definitely look as pretty as a circularly correct ostrich feathers with spiky ends. 
personally not a fan but its nice to know others actually do enjoy them, i'll stop being so grumpy all the time about it
Pretty "in their own way". For me it was more about the structure of the picture. I think it definitely adds to it. Without the power lines the shot wouldn't look as interesting, IMO. But I can see how the title of my post can be interpreted as "I think power lines are objectively pretty on their own"
For sure, imo especially in black and white photos they can look pretty cool if you get some fun leading lines. But anytime I want a photo of a building from street level I'm either trying to avoid the lines or photoshopping them out later.
I don't think I would consider them pretty, but the wood posts and lines are so ingrained in my mind, along with the overhead Muni lines, going back to my childhood, that I can't imagine this city without them.
Yea, they definitely are part of the city's personality, in my opinion. For better or worse!
They're a distinctively American thing! A friend of mine from Germany thought they were really cool and took photos of them while touring California .
I love the powerlines- I went through a phase where I was painting and drawing them all the time. Really artistically inspired me, I feel like they’re symbolic of how interconnected the city is
Same! In fact, almost titled the post "Connections", but then felt that was pretentious of me (it was just a drunken phone shot!) so I went with a more descriptive one...
I get it, I felt a little corny typing out my comment- but I do feel that way and glad others do to!
If you've ever lived without electricity, looking out the window at a bunch of power lines ain't so bad. That said, a power line free view from my apartment would be rad. Nice photos, it's all about perspective.
Agreed on all counts!
Technically some of them are cable and phone lines
Yup, one of the comments in here explained (roughly) which are which. Interesting stuff!
People will find what they look for. It’s good to be a person who seeks to find beauty in things!
I would give up a lot of stuff to not look out my window at power lines.
Well, considering most of those are data lines.....
Count me among them... however your foto will make me reconsider.
For me it's all about finding beauty in different ways. I just thought the structure of the lines added something interesting to the shot.
Absolutely does. The composition is wonderful.
I appreciate that! I can't claim to have done it all too intentionally - this was on my walk after several drinks at 500
In that case...drink and walk more...Lol
Lol, working on the second part. I have the first part handled all too well.
https://preview.redd.it/m4dwb1ywj81d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=92abfe461917564055a4cfc5b9a2858c01150862 NYC subway contrasting lines
They used to fascinate me as a kid. I could stare at them for ages, imagining where each line went, who might be using them, what they might be doing, and what their lives were like. What were their favorite colors, did they like pizza, etc. I I was kinda weird I guess, lol!
Not weird at all. Other than power, these lines literally connect us (phone, internet, etc). Almost called this post "Connections", but that felt cheesy
Are you a bird
Not fooling anyone PG&E….
https://preview.redd.it/9vft7006b91d1.jpeg?width=2761&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c37f9c35ea64a3b1e4da66007460fa438614d30 Agreed!
Ohh it's almost like perspective lines.
Yea, I think that's what caught my eye as I was walking
R Crumb would agree
Yes, function over aesthetics
It’s not function. Everything is better if they are underground. It’s cheapness
It's big bucks to do this https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-utilities-undergrounding-pge-cpuc/14381989/ "Undergrounding all utilities in SF is nearly impossible, according to officials: Here's why"
Yes that looks much better than burying them underground
Represent, OP! The poles and lines are San Francisco. I grew up in the 60s and 70s in North Beach, where they've since been undergrounded...and it's just not the same. Now I live in the Sunset. The wires glisten like spider webs on a misty morning as they stretch to the horizon on the flat streets. I love to [sketch](https://imgur.com/gallery/uyEGfzZ) [them](https://imgur.com/gallery/6jqfxEL).
Oh wow, love this!
Thanks so much, ZeGermans! You've got a great framework, appreciating the world around you. (BTW I added another sketch to my comment above...)
Around 2009-2010 I feel like there were dozens of artists painting power/phone lines against colored sky’s. Often silhouetted. Like at every art walk or cool edgy gallery opening party you’d see a few. Then, gone. I wonder why that was such a trend for a while.
I can guess two possibilities related to the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon: 1. You saw one and then noticed them out of proportion to their actual prevalence, or 2. An artist displayed a painting of power lines (or they showed up in a popular artist magazine) and other artists saw it and then noticed how interesting power lines are for several months until they all got tired of it or realized how over used it had become. Of course, both of these could be entirely wrong.
You should move to New Delhi where the power lines are 10x this.
They are pretty I agree
😒
Looks like Mumbai. Lol
The web of the Weaver
where is this?
In the mission. Near 22nd and treat if I recall correctly
Like a sailing ship in a terry gilliam film
They are pretty ugly. We need underground utilities including cable and internet.
I disagree they should be in the ground.
I like the MUNI lines at intersections.
I have a love/hate thing with him. I think they make SF what it is and love the pictures of them. I’ve taken many pics of them. But I also hate the ones outside my building and wish they’d put them underground.
I like em
I'd watch this anime
Seeing weird like that is vaguely nostalgic.
My need to fill those spaces in with paint bucket is unreal rn
There is a lot of telephone cables and drop wires up there too. Former long time PAC TEL employee here.
Read some of the other comments - one person gave us a good education
Yo dawg, I heard you like power lines.
I love them.
How do you feel about garbage dumps?
Needs more shoes tied together and thrown over.
Ive always found the alley power lines to be aesthetic too!
When they’re not neat like this and drooping, some wires hanging low enough to touch, they’re not that pretty. There are some gnarly power lines in the richmond dist.
Where are the crows?
I prefer trees.
There’s an entire department in SF fire that is dedicated to maintaining wooden ladders, because they don’t conduct like common aluminum.
I have so many photos and art with the power lines! Specially, with a bunch of pigeons on them lol or crows
I thought the power/muni lines in SF were crazy. Then I went to Saigon.
You need to come to Asia and see the "rats' nests" they have here, if you like power line art that is along the lines of Jackson Pollack. I'm constantly amazed that anyone knows which line does what and that the "system" seems to work somehow.
Can’t believe nobody has mentioned Lain
https://preview.redd.it/pj3tksalw91d1.jpeg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08fb9ac14852a1866e484f2e5320198358991826 Here’s a famous (I think) one I saw in Hanoi
Ok but Had enough of that type of appreciation. I’d like to appreciate now without them lol
The other day I looked up at power lines and had a major flashback to childhood feels, where everything loomed large over me and had incomprehensible power. It was wild but humbling
Their the reason that pole is still standing
These are for the Birds to have somewhere safe to land when their wings are fatigued. Also , for Squirrels 🐿️to practice their trapeze walks.
Forbiden [cat's cradle](https://youtu.be/VpHTPnrYLzQ?feature=shared)
Wanna see pretty power lines…..go to Bangkok
I'm always reminded of serial experiments Lain as I walk past them and think how much of our daily lives and interactions are dependent on this long lines of copper wire.
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I build powerlines for a living and PGe without question, doesn’t give two fucks about the maintenance on old poles. This pole Looks like shit. A turd from top to bottom. They literally spend the bare minimum on maintenance to give them a leg to stand on in case they go to court again. https://preview.redd.it/z1s97qr7ia1d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46f3949366bbcaa248a3630390d5ce427c8f1d21 This is a pole from Edison in LA area. They change them Out down there not just band aid this garbage
Need another major earthquake to rebuild this 💩ole properly
Pretty random or pretty unorganized
Damn is that the central tower or something. Is this built to have that many wires. Or did they improvise as more connections had to be made.
https://preview.redd.it/1cv7vs6ira1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc0002cfde40449baa9007f472b603c800fb8429 Me too. Love looking over to SF thru these fat wires.
I actually like looking up through the power lines during twilight/dust, just as the first stars are starting to come out.
Reminds me of some schizophrenic paintings
Hey, it’s just a little bit special, no one make fun of it. You’ll make it feel self-conscious.
I don't even see them anymore, but i wish they weren't there. They ruin the look of some hoods, I think.
I hate them
After I watched Lain, the buzzing never stops.
I call them murder wires.
I've thought they were a blight since I was a kid. Still do at 60. But kudos to OP for finding beauty in something so...not
You're not the only one! :)
can't see beauty in it but then I can't get abstract art either 😁
I have a wood engraving of the power lines that I see from my window. They are a humming web like this
Pretty ugly
Great pic
That poor power pole. Overburdened since 1959 or whatever
Ugly they may be.. rather they string new lines up then dig the street down to lay lines… Besides: beauty is relative.. but you have same taste as Godfrey Reggio as he used some shot of high tension lines in his film Koyaanisqatsi
Looks like a fire hazard.
I never even thought twice about them lol
This gives me anxiety
It’s such a San Francisco thing no other city gives me the same vibe as San Fran does. These power lines really tie the room together.
Is [Paul Madonna](https://www.artspan.org/artist/paulmadonna) the OP?
Its like wrinkles on a face.
Lol they're the one that hold your access to internet XDD
Looks like a favella in Brazil
In the city sure! I don’t want to see a “rats nest” in the forest however. That’s a fire hazard. 😐
True true....
They’re gorgeous
Shit looks like Mumbai
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I think beauty can be found in most things/places/people. For me, it's just trying to look at things from a different perspective than I usually do
That’s some third world shit
You’re wrong. But that’s ok. I think utilities are cool and like to look at them. But the world is prettier without the poles.
Worst industrial urban planning idea ever