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Heterogeneous public preferences for undergrounding high-voltage power transmission lines: Case of Seoul metropolitan area in South Korea

This study utilized the choice experiment and consumer choice model to investigate public preference for priorities and details of high-voltage power transmission line undergrounding policy. Latent class logit model, which can incorporate preference heterogeneity by dividing the sample into few classes, was utilized to investigate heterogeneous public preference. As a result, four distinct classes with difference preference structure were identified. The results show that strong heterogeneity was observed especially for the priority area for undergrounding. Moreover, heterogeneous public preference was associated with respondent’s key demographics and perceptions towards transmission infrastructure.

Heterogeneous public attitudes toward high-voltage power transmission lines and willingness to pay for undergrounding projects

In this study, we analyzed public attitude toward HV-PTL and classified people into four subgroups based on their common characteristics using latent class models. Furthermore, using the CVM, we estimated the public WTP for the conversion of overhead transmission lines to underground cables, focusing on the differences between the identified subgroups. According to empirical analysis, people in South Korea can be classified into four classes based on the perceived necessity for residents’ participation in the decision-making process, perceived health risk, and perceived property loss risk. This study contributes to the understanding of scholars and policymakers of the linkage between public attitudes toward HV-PTL and overhead-to-underground conversion.