While workers wrap up work to replace a dozen utility poles than went down in a windstorm along Farrington Highway this week, it is time to revisit the larger issue of moving utilities on O'ahu underground.

Clearly, this task will take time — and a lot of money. But the Farrington incident, which made a mess of traffic and disrupted the lives of thousands, makes it clear there are costs to not doing something about our spiderweb of overhead utility wires.

Hawaiian Electric did a great job of dealing with the immediate problem on the Leeward Coast as fast as it possibly could. In addition, the company says it may conduct an inspection of all poles on O'ahu to see if there are underlying problems such as termite damage that must be dealt with.

That research also may reveal additional reasons why relocating utilities underground is serious business that cannot be ignored.

Technicians say burying wires, even absent the cost issue, poses certain problems. While underground utilities are not vulnerable to sudden windstorms and other forces of nature, they are vulnerable to flooding and water damage. And indeed, HECO must weigh the cost of putting lines underground against other key priorities, including constructing a new power plant to meet increasing energy demand and installing additional service lines into core use areas such as urban Honolulu.

Overall, however, safety, security (and most certainly aesthetics) suggest that having utilities underground is the way to go.

This small windstorm offered a taste of what things might be like should O'ahu bear the brunt of a hurricane. When that day comes, we will all regret not having moved more swiftly to protect our power infrastructure from the inevitable.

This is not a task for Hawaiian Electric alone. It is for all of us, including other utility providers, rate- and taxpayers.