The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recently released its 2025 Infrastructure Report Card - and the electric grid didn’t fare well. The sector’s grade fell from a C- to a D+, reflecting mounting challenges: aging infrastructure, rising demand, supply chain strain, and increasing threats from climate and cyber risks.
This downgrade is sobering, but not surprising. It’s also an urgent call to action - especially for policymakers, planners, and regulators tasked with securing the reliability, affordability, and sustainability of the U.S. power system.
While the challenges are complex, the tools to address them already exist. Chief among them: Advanced Conductors, including high-efficiency solutions like the ACCC® Conductor developed by CTC Global. These technologies can help modernize the grid at a pace and scale aligned with national decarbonization, reliability, and economic development goals - if policy frameworks are adapted to fully support their deployment.
A Grid Under Strain, and the Clock Is Ticking
ASCE’s findings echo concerns shared by FERC, DOE, and grid operators across the country. U.S. electricity demand is surging due to electric vehicles, AI-driven data centers, electrification, and new industrial load. Peak demand could double in some regions by 2030. Simultaneously, transmission capacity must also double to integrate planned renewable generation.
Yet, more than 70% of the nation’s transmission lines are over 25 years old. Distribution transformer supply chains are under severe stress, with lead times exceeding two years and prices up as much as 80% since 2020. Extreme weather events are increasing in both frequency and intensity, and cybersecurity threats are escalating.
All of this places enormous pressure on utilities and grid planners. Simply building more infrastructure using traditional approaches won’t be fast or affordable enough to keep pace.
Advanced Conductors: A Scalable, Cost-Effective Policy Lever
Advanced Conductors, such as the ACCC® Conductor, offer an efficient and proven alternative to traditional transmission rebuilds or greenfield construction. With a lightweight, high-strength composite core, the ACCC® Conductor can double current-carrying capacity and reduce line losses - within existing rights-of-way and structures.
This capability allows utilities to bypass many of the cost, permitting, and timeline hurdles associated with new line development. That’s a critical advantage in today’s environment - and one that policymakers must integrate into planning and funding strategies.
In fact, more than 1,350 ACCC® deployments across the U.S. and internationally have demonstrated measurable gains in capacity, efficiency, and resilience - with lower environmental impact and faster deployment timelines.
Policy Research Supports Accelerated Reconductoring
A 2024 working paper from the Energy Institute at Berkeley Haas found that reconductoring existing lines with Advanced Conductors - highlighting ACCC® specifically - could:
- Double transmission capacity without new corridors
- Avoid $180 billion in energy system costs by 2050
- Meet over 80% of required interzonal transmission expansion to support a 90% clean electricity grid by 2035
The findings emphasize that reconductoring is not merely a bridge solution, but a core strategy for grid decarbonization and resilience - if appropriately supported by policy and planning mechanisms.
Federal Momentum - and the Policy Gap That Remains
Recent federal legislation - including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - has rightly directed billions toward grid modernization. New projects like Southline and Cross-Tie are important, and the DOE’s $10.5 billion GRIP program provides a valuable funding stream for innovation.
Yet even with these investments, ASCE projects a $578 billion funding gap by 2033. Without continued and expanded investment, that figure could exceed $700 billion.
To close this gap, utilities and regulators must be empowered to pursue the highest-value upgrades - and reconductoring with Advanced Conductors is among the most cost-effective options available.
Policy Recommendations: Unlocking the Full Potential of Advanced Conductors
ASCE’s 2025 recommendations include improving grid codes, creating a national transformer inventory, and promoting advanced materials. These are important first steps. But to scale impact, national and state policy must go further by:
- Mandating consideration of reconductoring in regional and national transmission planning (FERC, DOE, RTOs/ISOs)
- Modernizing utility procurement models to allow performance-based and lifecycle-cost comparisons
- Expanding funding eligibility for reconductoring projects through IIJA, IRA, and state-level programs
- Integrating advanced conductors into resilience and climate action planning, particularly in wildfire-prone and high-load growth regions
- Adopting cost-effectiveness frameworks that reward efficiency, environmental performance, and time-to-deploy
These actions can help accelerate grid transformation while protecting ratepayers and maximizing public benefit.
Looking Ahead: A Smarter, Faster Path to Grid Resilience
The D+ grade is a wake-up call - but not a death sentence. Proven technologies like the ACCC® Conductor, already in wide deployment by utilities including AEP, NV Energy, SCE, and PacifiCorp, show how grid modernization can happen faster, smarter, and with less disruption.
With intentional policy alignment and regulatory support, Advanced Conductors can become a foundational element of America's grid modernization strategy - ensuring our infrastructure is not just restored, but reimagined for the 21st century.
The next chapter in America’s electric grid story doesn’t have to be about decline. It can be about innovation, efficiency, and resilience - built on smart policy, strategic investment, and proven technology.