IDAHO FALLS - Last month a power outage in Idaho Falls forced the power company to replace underground cables. They tried using a new technology by injecting silicone and chemicals into the cables.

When crews started working on the eight square block area this morning, they used the silicone product again in hopes of making the power system more reliable and extending the life of the cables.

"We're trying it in a couple areas where we have older, underground, direct buried cables and its getting to the 25, 30 year mark where we're starting to see some failures in the cable," stated Idaho Falls Power compliance manager Richard Malloy.

Replacement was the only option before. This method has been around since the early nineties. It's worked well in major cities like Houston, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland.

"Surrounding the copper conductor here, this gray area is insulation. And over time what will happen is you get cracks in the insulation and if the crack goes all the way through, the power goes out," explains operations manager Cole Hammond.

A cable adapter has holes in it. The silicone fluid goes through the insulation and fills the micro cracks; extending the life of the cable by up to 40 years.

The silicone injections are faster than replacing a cable. Crews can get to an old cable before it fails, which means less outages. The injections are also cheaper than replacement. Costs can be cut by nearly 40 percent.

"If you have a budget for 100 thousand dollars for replacement, you're going to be able to treat a lot more cable," says Hammond.

Four weeks after silicone treatment, the companies will evaluate and make sure its serving our needs. Then they'll look at treating the rest of the buried cables in Idaho Falls.

When I asked Malloy if the goal was to evetually have it in the entire city he replied, "If it works, yes. If it lives up to its claim, that is the goal."