AN independent review into electricity pylons should be done by the Welsh Government, according to a local Senedd Member.

Adam Price, MS for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, is calling on the Welsh Government to commission an independent review of the feasibility of undergrounding electricity connections.

His calls come as a number of new transmission lines to improve capacity on the national grid are planned.

They include Bute Energy’s proposals for pylons through the picturesque Towy Valley, which has received opposition from locals, with many calling for undergrounding.

Mr Price believes that a better understanding of costs relating to undergrounding of cables would result in 'more sensible' decision-making.

He said: “The argument in favour of overhead pylons instead of undergrounding emphasises the difference in cost.

"But estimates of the actual cost differ widely between the 5-10 times more expensive figure most often quoted by the electricity generation industry within the UK and reflected in the Winser review, and the two to three times more expensive figure quoted in Ireland, Australia and the United States.

“We need to have an independent and objective analysis of the relative costs that reflects recent innovation in cable-ploughing and high voltage direct current technology.

“Given these advances, and the greater protection from outages due to extreme weather that burying cables affords, the case for undergrounding all transmission and distribution infrastructure, as the Netherlands has decided to do, is growing stronger by the day.”

Mr Price’s calls come after a UK Government report which suggests homes near pylons should be paid.

A recent report by energy industry veteran Nick Wisner looked at different ways to fast track the 12-14 year time frame to build new electricity lines, including streamlining the planning process and offering lump sum payments to people living near transmission pylons.