POWER lines for the proposed new Hinkley Point nuclear power station could run underground along with the use of pylons, National Grid has revealed.

Campaigners have objected to a proposed 50-mile stretch of pylons, saying it would ruin the countryside.

But a spokesperson for the National Grid told the Weekly News they were currently carrying out surveys along the route to see what technology they could use.

She said: “We are likely to be using a combination of overhead lines and underground cables, but we can’t say where or how much it would be.

“We are hoping to make an announcement shortly.”

A report commissioned independently recently revealed that underground cables could cost five times more than overhead ones.

Parsons and Brinckerhoff, endorsed by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, reported that an overhead cable could cost between £2.2million and £4.2million per kilometre, compared to an underground one which could cost between £10.2million and £24.1 million.

National Grid is currently using underground cables in Lincoln and Sedgemoor’s ‘No Moor Pylons’ campaigners are calling for the same technology to be adopted in Somerset to minimise the visual impact and effect on wildlife in an environmentally sensitive area.