Risk hidden in plain sight: Explaining homeowner perceptions of electricity transmission infrastructure

Highlights: • About half of a population might fail to perceive any elements of HVOTL risk. • EMFs and visual impacts of power lines top the perceptual risk rankings of residents. • Risk perception relates to age, gender, knowledge of power supply, and residential location. • A "one size fits all" view of homeowners is unsatisfactory in installing HVOTL infrastructure. -- Abstract: This project probes perceptions of long-standing concern about high voltage electricity overhead transmission lines (HVOTL). Psychometric, cultural and broader risk analysis frameworks permit close examination of homeowners' worries about relevant externalities. Investigated via a telephone survey in Queensland, Australia, the most significant perceptions are hypothesized to relate to technologically-infused risks. Visual effects and noise are the key externalities but shield deeper qualms relating to electric and magnetic fields (EMFs). Safety, environmental damage and property impacts are less feared. Regression analysis indicates that prior knowledge about HVOTLs and a person's residential locale influence risk perception, along with gender and age. The research supports the underlying precepts of a 'risk society' while offering significant policy guidelines for infrastructure and associated agencies.