A System Under Strain
America’s electric grid is facing a test unlike any in its history. For decades, electricity demand grew steadily, then plateaued as efficiency gains and slower economic expansion dampened load growth. But today, the tide has turned. Artificial intelligence and data center construction are driving rapid, concentrated demand growth in places that were never designed for such explosive loads. Add in electrification of vehicles and buildings, an urgent push for renewable integration, and the reality of extreme weather events, and the system that has reliably served the country for over a century suddenly feels stretched to its breaking point.
FERC Commissioner Judy Chang captured this urgency in a recent Utility Dive opinion piece, writing that “our grid planners… must truly optimize the grid that we have today, such as by using cutting-edge technologies when building out the network.” It was a reminder that this is not just about building new lines - though new lines will be essential - but about deploying smarter solutions immediately to relieve stress points and unlock the system’s latent potential.
The phrase “cutting-edge” was deliberate. These are not “bleeding-edge” experiments that utilities should shy away from. They are proven, commercially available Grid Enhancing Technologies - or GETs - that can and must be deployed at scale.
Lessons from the Past
In the post-war decades, America responded to rising industrial demand with an unprecedented build-out of high-voltage transmission. The backbone of the modern grid - the 345 kV and 500 kV lines that knit together regions - was born in that era. The system was expanded with a singular focus: build bigger to meet bigger demand.
That approach worked in a different time, when rights-of-way were easier to secure, regulatory approvals faster to obtain, and supply chains more predictable. But today, those same dynamics conspire against us. Securing approvals for new transmission lines can take a decade or more. Supply chain disruptions and labor shortages drive costs upward. And community resistance to new corridors has grown louder and more effective.
It is clear that we cannot repeat the strategies of the past and expect success. Instead, we must do more with what we already have. That means optimizing existing rights-of-way, upgrading existing lines, and using digital tools to unlock flexibility. This is where GETs - and especially advanced conductors - become indispensable.
The Case for Grid Enhancing Technologies
Grid Enhancing Technologies represent a suite of innovations that include:
Dynamic Line Ratings (DLR): sensors and analytics that safely adjust line ratings in real time based on weather and operating conditions.
Advanced Power Flow Controllers: devices that can redirect flows around congested corridors, much like traffic routing apps ease highway bottlenecks.
Topology Optimization Software: tools that use grid modeling to identify and deploy switching schemes that maximize existing capacity.
Advanced Conductors: high-capacity, low-sag conductors - such as CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor - that replace aging steel-core lines and dramatically increase ampacity while reducing losses.
The WATT Coalition, one of the most vocal advocates for GETs, put it simply in its 2024 compendium: “GETs are hardware, software, or both that increase power line capacity, efficiency, reliability, and safety.” Their studies and case examples demonstrate that these technologies can increase transfer capacity on existing infrastructure by up to 40%, in timelines measured in months - not decades.
The Brattle Group has consistently reinforced this point. In a 2023 white paper, the firm concluded that “GETs that provide immediate solutions to existing grid issues could allow more time to develop traditional transmission.” In other words, they are not a substitute for new lines, but a bridge - buying time, unlocking near-term capacity, and reducing the costs of waiting.
Reconductoring: The Flagship GET
While each category of GETs has its place, reconductoring with advanced conductors may be the single most impactful. At the heart of this approach is a simple concept: replace existing steel-reinforced aluminum conductors with modern, composite-core designs that can carry twice the current with significantly lower line losses.
CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor exemplifies this technology. Its carbon composite core is both stronger and lighter than steel, allowing more aluminum to be strung in the same corridor without exceeding sag limits. The result is a line that carries more power, runs more efficiently, and performs better in extreme heat - without requiring larger towers or new rights-of-way.
The Department of Energy’s 2024 advanced conductor scan quantified the benefits: reconductoring with advanced conductors can deliver capacity at roughly one-third the cost of new transmission, while also reducing losses and emissions. This finding validates what utilities in over 65 countries and 30 U.S. States have already experienced through 185,000 kilometers of installed ACCC® Conductor.
The Energy Institute at Berkeley Haas took the analysis further in its 2024 study with GridLab. Their model showed that reconductoring alone could meet over 80% of the new interzonal transmission needed to achieve a 90% clean electricity grid by 2035, particularly in scenarios where new builds are constrained. Their conclusion was blunt: “Reconductoring can help meet over 80% of the new interzonal transmission needed… by 2035.”
A Chorus of Industry Support
Commissioner Chang is far from alone in her call to embrace cutting-edge solutions. Across the landscape of transmission policy and research, leading organizations are echoing the same message.
WIRES, a coalition of transmission providers and developers, has highlighted the importance of collaboration in planning. In a 2024 report with Grid Strategies, they argued that cooperation “allows better use of existing assets and rights-of-way,” which is precisely what GETs enable. Their work points out that existing rules often slow collaboration and create barriers to deploying advanced technologies - a challenge regulators must urgently address.
The GridWise Alliance has consistently pushed for a coordinated vision of grid modernization. Its 2024 Vision for an Integrated Grid argued that America must “facilitate new transmission while accelerating investments that will defer costs and may avoid some new builds.” Their annual Grid Modernization Index gives states a scorecard to benchmark their readiness, including adoption of policies that enable GET deployment.
Grid Forward, a regional alliance focused on the Pacific Northwest, has been turning rhetoric into practice. Through its GridFWD conferences and programs, it has convened utilities, regulators, and vendors to “accelerate deployment of commercially available advanced grid solutions to better leverage the grid we already have today.” Their work underscores the practical steps needed to integrate GETs into procurement, planning, and operations - not someday, but now.
The Brattle Group has been the analytical backbone, producing study after study that demonstrates the economics of GETs. Their research shows that deploying advanced conductors, DLR, and power-flow controls reduces congestion costs, cuts outage impacts during upgrades, and accelerates interconnection timelines - all while lowering overall costs to ratepayers.
And the WATT Coalition, working hand-in-hand with these allies, has kept GETs at the center of the policy conversation. Their advocacy has helped embed requirements for considering GETs into FERC’s landmark Order No. 1920, which directs transmission providers to include advanced technologies - specifically advanced conductors - in their long-term planning processes.
Policy Momentum: From Recommendation to Requirement
Momentum is clearly building. FERC’s Order No. 1920 was a watershed moment, embedding GETs into the regulatory fabric. For the first time, transmission providers are not only encouraged but required to consider advanced conductors, DLR, and other GETs as part of their least-cost, least-regrets planning scenarios.
The Department of Energy’s 2024 Grid Modernization Strategy reinforced this push, emphasizing that GETs are cost-effective, proven, and ready to scale. Their analysis found that integrating these technologies into both existing and new transmission projects improves overall system performance and affordability.
Together, these policy shifts reflect a new baseline: GETs are no longer “nice to have” - they are essential to responsible planning.
The Bigger Picture: From Crisis Mode to Systemic Change
Commissioner Chang warned that we cannot remain in crisis mode forever. Today, too much of the grid planning conversation is reactive: interconnection backlogs trigger piecemeal fixes, while long-term planning lags behind immediate demands. This cycle must be broken.
The grid is, as Chang wrote, “a single machine.” It must be planned, operated, and modernized as such. That requires harmonizing transmission planning and interconnection processes - and embedding GETs in both.
Consider the alternative. Without GETs, utilities will be forced into a false choice: wait a decade for new lines, or continue to curtail clean generation and delay new loads. That path leads to higher costs, reliability risks, and missed opportunities for economic growth.
But with GETs, we can unlock headroom in months, not years. We can reconductor constrained corridors with ACCC® Conductor, redirect flows with power controllers, and squeeze more out of existing lines with dynamic ratings. These are not future promises - they are tools in our hands today.
A Generational Opportunity
Every generation has faced a defining energy challenge. For the builders of the mid-20th century, it was creating the vast network of high-voltage transmission that powered the industrial age. For our generation, it is meeting the twin imperatives of explosive demand growth and deep decarbonization - all while maintaining affordability and reliability.
This is not just an engineering challenge. It is a test of vision, leadership, and resolve. Will we cling to outdated methods and crisis-driven stopgaps, or will we embrace the cutting-edge tools that can deliver a resilient, efficient, and modern grid?
Commissioner Chang has pointed us in the right direction. The voices of WIRES, GridWise, Grid Forward, WATT, Brattle, and Berkeley Haas have given us the evidence. And technologies like ACCC® Conductor have already proven their worth in the field.
The path forward is clear. To borrow Chang’s phrase, the time to use cutting-edge technologies when building out the network is not tomorrow, or in the next planning cycle. It is now.