Burying power lines: a strategic and technological revolution to watch

Market analysis: Burying power lines, or how to hide the essential to reveal the future

Let's bury the past to illuminate the future

Burying power lines is not just a matter of wires and trenches, it is a silent revolution. With nearly 47% of the French network already underground according to Enedis, France is leading the way. Spain, with about 30% of its lines underground, is moving at its own pace by focusing on strategic innovations. In a Europe where the energy transition imposes ambitious objectives, these initiatives are not just a choice, but a necessity.

The economic and technical challenges remain high: how to reduce costs, which vary between €80,000 and €120,000 per kilometre (Source: Ministry of Ecological Transition), while meeting the growing expectations of local authorities, network operators and citizens?

The Hidden Challenges of Buried Lines

Dizzying costs

Burying a kilometre of medium-voltage line represents a significant investment. In France, Enedis spent €1.3 billion in 2022 to modernise its network, a large part of which was dedicated to landfilling. The manager aims to reach a rate of 70% in sensitive areas by 2030.

State-of-the-art tools

Companies such as the Marais Group, a subsidiary of Tesmec, are revolutionizing the sector with their automated slicers. These machines reduce installation times and the environmental impact of the work, allowing up to 1 km per day to be processed in optimal conditions.

A controlled environmental impact

Landfilling limits the risks associated with bad weather and protects networks against storms, which caused €1.6 billion in damage in France between 2000 and 2020 according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition (Source: Ministry of Ecological Transition). It also helps preserve biodiversity by eliminating pylons that fragment natural habitats.

Europe: harmonisation as a leitmotif

The European Union imposes strict standards through CENELEC, guaranteeing the security and interoperability of infrastructures. At the same time, flagship projects illustrate the cross-border dynamics: the France-Spain interconnection via the HVDC Baixas-Santa Llogaia link, managed by RTE and Red Eléctrica, is an emblematic example. This 64.5 km line, mostly underground, carries up to 2,000 MW of electricity, reducing energy losses by 30% compared to conventional lines.

Spain is also investing heavily in its infrastructure: Red Eléctrica has planned a budget of €4.4 billion between 2021 and 2026, part of which is for underground and modernisation of the network (Source: Red Eléctrica).

Harmonising Networks, Regulating Impact

Beyond infrastructure modernisation, Europe is seeking coherence between energy policy and environmental objectives. The harmonisation of electrical networks goes hand in hand with increasingly strict environmental regulations, particularly concerning the nuclear sector. The European taxonomy for sustainable activities defines clear criteria for classifying nuclear energy as “transitional,” imposing reinforced obligations in terms of waste management, water use, and radiation protection. Projects for the burial of lines must therefore integrate both biodiversity preservation measures and compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIA 2011/92/EU).

France, Spain and Germany, despite different energy mixes, converge on the same goal: to minimise visual and ecological impact while ensuring grid resilience. This European framework encourages the deployment of underground high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems that optimise energy flow between member states and limit losses. It also pushes operators to account for life-cycle carbon emissions and land-use constraints before project approval, thereby anchoring the energy transition in a logic of controlled and shared environmental impact.

From buried power lines to buried fibre: the unseen foundation of digital performance

Behind the burial of power lines lies another strategic transformation that is often overlooked: the deployment of underground fibre-optic networks. In many European regions, aerial electricity lines remain closely linked to overhead telecommunications infrastructure. When these networks are exposed, digital continuity becomes fragile.

According to ARCEP, more than 55% of major fixed-network service interruptions in France are linked to incidents affecting aerial infrastructure, particularly during extreme weather events. Storms such as Alex in 2020 or Ciarán in 2023 caused not only massive power outages but also prolonged internet disruptions, sometimes lasting several days for businesses located in semi-rural areas.

The burial of electrical networks often creates the opportunity to simultaneously deploy underground fibre. This transition dramatically improves network reliability. Underground fibre offers availability rates above 99.99%, compared to significantly lower continuity levels on aerial networks exposed to wind, ice and vegetation. Latency on buried fibre networks typically remains stable below 10 milliseconds, while aerial networks experience frequent micro-cuts and packet loss.

Digital instability: the silent bottleneck of CRM performance

As companies increasingly rely on cloud-based CRM systems, network quality becomes a critical operational factor. Modern CRMs such as Salesforce, HubSpot or Microsoft Dynamics operate within API-driven ecosystems that require continuous, stable connectivity to function properly.

Cisco’s Annual Internet Report highlights that even micro-interruptions lasting a few seconds can disrupt API calls, corrupt data synchronization and interrupt automated workflows. In practical terms, this means lost leads, incomplete customer records and delayed commercial follow-up.

A study conducted by Gartner estimates that companies experiencing unstable connectivity can lose up to 20% of usable CRM data annually due to synchronization failures, manual reprocessing and system downtime. These losses are rarely attributed to infrastructure, yet they directly affect commercial efficiency.

In many SMEs, CRM underperformance is wrongly interpreted as a software issue, while the root cause lies in unreliable internet access dependent on aerial networks.

No stable network, no coherent commercial development

A coherent B2B commercial strategy relies on data continuity. Lead generation, marketing automation and sales follow-up require uninterrupted flows of information between websites, analytics tools, CRMs and sales teams.

Without a stable underground fibre connection, companies face structural limitations. Visitor tracking becomes unreliable, lead attribution is delayed or lost, and sales teams operate on incomplete or outdated information. According to McKinsey, poor data reliability can reduce sales productivity by up to 15% in B2B environments where CRM systems are central to the sales process.

In this context, launching lead generation campaigns without addressing infrastructure weaknesses amounts to building a commercial strategy on unstable ground. No amount of marketing sophistication can compensate for a fragile digital backbone.

Infrastructure as a prerequisite for lead generation strategy

The burial of power lines and the deployment of underground fibre should therefore be understood as more than infrastructure upgrades. They are enablers of digital maturity and commercial scalability.

Effective B2B lead generation assumes that data flows are continuous, CRM systems operate in real time, and API connections remain stable throughout the customer journey. When these conditions are met, companies can deploy advanced lead qualification, segmentation and follow-up strategies with measurable results.

Conversely, when internet connectivity depends on vulnerable aerial networks, lead generation efforts are exposed to structural risk. According to Deloitte, companies that fail to align their digital tools with their infrastructure constraints experience significantly lower ROI on marketing investments, sometimes by more than 25%.

Burying the constraints to unlock commercial growth

Seen from this perspective, infrastructure modernisation and commercial performance are inseparable. Energy resilience, underground networks and fibre deployment form the invisible foundation upon which digital strategy, CRM efficiency and B2B lead generation can truly operate.

Before generating leads, companies must ensure that their structural constraints are addressed. Sometimes, the most effective way to reveal future growth is to bury what weakens it.

Collaborating with Enedis: an opportunity for innovative suppliers

Becoming an Enedis supplier opens the way to strategic collaborations. Companies must obtain ministerial authorisation, join forces with a Balance Responsible Party and sign a DSO-Supplier contract to operate on the Enedis network (Source: Enedis Suppliers). Payment terms, generally 60 days, offer a certain financial predictability, and Enedis is committed to respecting these deadlines at 95%, testifying to efficient management.

SMEs can position themselves in this market through subcontracting (civil engineering, mapping, impact studies) or by responding to calls for tenders from Enedis and European players.

Participating in trade shows: a strategic lever

To make yourself known and build strategic partnerships, participation in trade shows is essential. Here is a selection of the key events in Europe for players in the power line burying sector:

• Elektrotechnik (Dortmund, Germany): February 12 to 14, 2025. Specialized exhibition for electrical engineering and automation.

• Enex (Kielce, Poland): February 18 to 19, 2025. International Exhibition of Energy Production and Distribution.

• Amper (Brno, Czech Republic): March 18 to 21, 2025. Exhibition of electrical engineering, electronics and automation.

• BePositive (Lyon, France ): March 25 to 27, 2025. Exhibition dedicated to the energy and ecological transition.

• Light + Building (Frankfurt, Germany): March 13 to 18, 2026. Leading trade fair for lighting and building services technologies.

These events provide an opportunity to showcase innovations, meet decision-makers and understand market trends. They are a key opportunity for any company looking to enter the sector.

Grouping Together to Win Public Contracts

In the field of electricity network modernisation, collaboration is often the key to accessing large public tenders. Enedis and state-owned projects frequently encourage groupements d’entreprises—temporary consortia of suppliers bringing together complementary expertise such as civil engineering, electrical works, and environmental studies. These groupings enable SMEs and specialised firms to pool financial guarantees, share technical responsibilities, and strengthen their competitiveness in complex tenders.

In France, the Code de la Commande Publique explicitly authorises these consortiums, provided that roles and liabilities are clearly defined. At the European level, joint bidding is also promoted under the EU Public Procurement Directive (2014/24/EU), fostering cross-border partnerships and innovation sharing. For innovative SMEs, joining a consortium with larger operators can be a strategic entry point into the energy transition market, particularly for projects related to undergrounding power lines, smart grids, or renewable integration.

In five years: a revolution at the end of the trenches

Growth prospects

In France, the France Recovery Plan allocates €100 million to strengthen electricity networks, particularly in rural areas (Source: France Relance). In Spain, similar programmes encourage the integration of innovative technologies such as the self-repairing cables developed by Prysmian Group (Source: Prysmian Group).

Advanced monitoring systems, such as those offered by Schneider Electric, allow for real-time monitoring of the condition of infrastructure. These solutions reduce maintenance costs by 20 to 30% while extending the life of installations (Source: Schneider Electric).

Analyse SWOT :

• Strengths: Infrastructure modernization, weather resilience, technological innovations.

• Weaknesses: High costs, administrative delays, complex coordination between actors.

• Opportunities: European energy transition programmes, emergence of new technologies.

• Threats: Resistance of local authorities, budgetary constraints, implementation deadlines.

What you can't see underground: a well-crafted strategy

The success of landfill projects depends on appropriate financing and effective communication. Enedis and RTE, the main French players, are working closely with local authorities to prioritise areas at risk. In Spain, Red Eléctrica is deploying similar strategies, targeting regions exposed to climatic hazards.

Innovations such as GE Grid Solutions' intelligent systems, which can detect anomalies in real time, ensure proactive grid management and resource optimization (Source: GE Grid Solutions).

Conclusion: a buried opportunity that needs to emerge

Burying power lines is much more than a technical challenge, it is a strategic opportunity to modernize infrastructure, improve energy resilience and meet societal expectations. With a clear vision and committed players such as Enedis, Red Eléctrica and Prysmian Group, this sector can transform challenges into levers for sustainable growth.

It's a call to all visionary companies: seize this chance to innovate and build a future where energy flows safely and discreetly, hidden underground but at the heart of our daily lives.