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DC Mayor Wants To Move Power Lines Underground

WASHINGTON (AP) -- District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray wants to move up to 60 major power lines underground at a cost of $1 billion to prevent extended outages in the future.

The mayor on Wednesday accepted a task force's recommendation that the lines be moved underground. The task force was convened after a severe storm last summer that knocked out power to some Washington-area residents for a week or more.

Customers of the city's electric utility, Pepco, would pay for the majority of the project through higher bills. City officials say rates for residential customers would increase by $1.50 a month at first. The increase would top out at $3.25 per month by 2020.

The plan would have to be approved by the D.C. Council and the district's Public Service Commission.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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