Targeting Barriers to Grid Transmission Improvements

Electric utilities and contractors they hire could deploy a host of capacity-boosting grid transmission improvements and upgrades more quickly and extensively if a recently introduced U.S. Senate bill becomes law.

Introduced March 2, the Reconductoring Existing Wires for Infrastructure Reliability and Expansion (REWIRE) Act calls for changes to permitting, incentives, planning and funding that would spark more utility investment in technologies that squeeze more out of existing transmission infrastructure, notably advanced, high-performance conductors (HPCs) utilized in reconductoring established lines, grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) that increase the capacity, efficiency, reliability or safety of existing power lines, and energy storage.

The act’s sponsors, Democrat Peter Welch of Vermont and Republican Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, frame the legislation as a necessary step to expediting grid improvements that must be made ahead of and alongside ultimate construction of more new infrastructure. Rapidly rising electricity demand, combined with the time it will take to build new, modernized, higher-capacity transmission infrastructure, calls for increasing the capacity of the grid, a news release Welch, McCormick Introduce Bipartisan REWIRE Act to Modernize America’s Electric Grid and Cut Red Tape | Senator Welch from the senators says, “by using the infrastructure we already have, bringing down costs, and stopping years of unnecessary permitting delays from standing in the way of real progress.”

The bill is welcome news for two groups representing broad collections of grid-upgrade stakeholders. Both the AMP Coalition, advocating for high-performance conductors, and the WATT (Working for Advanced Transmission Technologies) Coalition, supporting GETs advancement, see a possible clearing of roadblocks as an important impetus for the effort.

AMP executive director Nathan Shreve, who also has a role with WATT and is employed as senior research and policy associate at Grid Strategies, LLC, says fewer barriers and more support could grease the path for sustained investments in improvements to grid capabilities.

While utilities have made great progress in integrating GETs and HPCs, a policy change of this magnitude, addressing “permitting delays, misaligned incentives and information gaps in transmission planning that have historically constrained their deployment, will make progress easier and faster.”

Better addressing the pace of deployment is critical, he adds, because electricity demand is increasing at an ever faster rate. GETs and HPCs will provide “durable” capacity that will provide long-term benefits similar to those that come with building new “large-scale” infrastructure. Both approaches, the less impeded the better, will be needed because of the rising electricity supply-and-demand gap.

“’Speed to power’ is the catchphrase of the year,” Shreve says. “Deploying GETs on existing infrastructure, or stringing HPCs on existing towers, are the only ways to get more capacity on the grid within two years (besides new transmission projects already under construction).”       

The legislation targets several key areas where improvements and refinements could accelerate the process. They include streamlined environmental reviews created through project carve-outs; enhanced return on equity for reconductoring projects via Federal Energy Regulatory Commission policy changes; more funding for states to conduct feasibility studies; and building a knowledge/best practices network through research bodies to pinpoint high-impact deployment opportunities.

Expanded deployment of HPCs and GETs would likely change the fundamental nature of utility transmission infrastructure construction, maintenance and improvement. That’s already happening, Shreve notes, as a growing number of utilities deploy projects of varied size and scope, constituting a moment of “growing momentum.”

That said, barriers exist outside of policy the bill would address. System updates and staff training are need for full utilization of GETs, Shreve says, but they are not “particularly heavy lifts.” One utility, he notes, “started talking to a dynamic line rating vendor, deployed a pilot, and then expanded the deployment to more lines, all within a year.”

Electrical design and engineering firms, as well as contractors, almost certainly will have a central role in any buildout of technologies for improving transmission infrastructure.

“They’re pivotal in the modernization of the utility sector,” Shreve says, adding that there will be a learning curve to navigate, one WATT and AMP are trying to address through development of curricula focusing on best-in-class tools “to understand where to use these technologies and what the benefits are compared to legacy solutions.”

Also paving the way for more GETs engineering are FERC orders that encourage deployment or consideration, he adds. Plus, 18 state laws now mandate GETs studies or reports.

That’s a strong stage-setting for expanded deployment, one that would be bolstered by passage of the REWIRE Act. Its prospects may be hard to game, but Shreve is optimistic partly because “permitting reform has been a hot topic on Capitol Hill for the past two years, and there’s bipartisan momentum to improve transmission permitting and get more grid capacity.”