THE Victorian Government and Black Saturday's Royal Commission are investigating burying powerlines to reduce the risk of them starting bushfires in high-risk areas.

However, the estimated $4 billion cost of burying lines in the Otways, Dandenongs and Victoria's other high-risk areas would have to be subsidised by charging all Victorians more for electricity.

The Government has already announced it will hold a national rural powerlines workshop next month, which will investigate "undergrounding" and other means of improving powerline safety.

The proposal already has the backing of electricity network operator Powercor, which has lobbied in the past for powerlines to buried.

In 2005 Powercor, which distributes electricity to the western half of the state, put a proposal to the Victorian Essential Services Commission to bury powerlines in high-risk areas including the Otway Ranges, Macedon and the Grampians.

The ESC rejected the proposal, arguing distributors would undertake undergrounding where the benefit to the distributor outweighed the cost.

Powercor responded by arguing the benefits of burying powerlines went far beyond those accrued by the company, given the cost of major bushfires such as Ash Wednesday to the wider community.

Powercor spokesman Hugo Armstrong said Powercor still believed undergrounding was the most effective means of preventing powerline fires.

Powercor commissioned a survey in 2005 which showed there was clear community support for burying powerlines.

Sweeney Research undertook surveys for Powercor, which "indicated broad appeal for undergrounding to most of the respondents in the focus groups, even though many accepted they may not personally benefit".

The survey found farmers were willing to pay an extra 1 per cent, small businesses 1.75 per cent and other rural residential customers 3.8 per cent extra on their power bills to cover the cost of burying power lines.

However, Powercor and other companies argue the cost would have to be spread across the wider community, given undergrounding costs 10 times that of erecting overhead lines.

It is still unknown whether the Royal Commission will call on the Government to bury powerlines.

Industry sources say the commission and Government are already discussing the costs and benefits of spending $4 billion, spread over several years, of burying lines.

"The question is who's going to foot the bill," Mr Armstrong said.

It's a sentiment shared by regional Victoria's other main electricity distributor, SP AusNet.

"While undergrounding of powerlines has potentially significant benefits, it is a very costly exercise and therefore requires consultation with the wider community and all relevant stakeholders," the SP Ausnet spokesman said.