By Bryan Shannon
Observations from IEEE PES T&D, EEI, DTECH, and MEA.
Over the past several months, I’ve had the opportunity to attend multiple major utility and energy conferences across the country, including IEEE PES T&D, EEI TDMM&A, MEA, and DistribuTECH.
One thing that stood out immediately was the level of participation and engagement across the industry. Utilities, engineering firms, manufacturers, technology providers, and infrastructure partners all seem to recognize that the electric grid is entering one of the most important periods of transformation and investment in decades.
After dozens of conversations across these events, a few themes continued to surface repeatedly.
What Are Utilities Most Focused On Right Now?
The biggest focus across the industry continues to be preparing the grid for significant load growth while maintaining reliability and affordability.
Utilities are actively planning for:
-Data center expansion
-Large manufacturing growth
-Electrification
-Increased regional demand
-New generation integration
-Aging infrastructure replacement
At the same time, utilities are working to accelerate transmission, substation, and interconnection projects fast enough to keep up with future demand.
One thing became very clear at these conferences: everyone understands the scale of the challenge ahead.
Why Is Transmission Capacity Getting More Attention?
Transmission buildout and long-term capacity planning were major topics across nearly every event.
In particular, there was increasing discussion around 765kV transmission and the need to move larger amounts of power more efficiently across regions.
As load growth accelerates and generation sources continue evolving, utilities are preparing for a grid that requires greater scale, flexibility, and resiliency than ever before.
What Is Changing in Transmission, Substations, and Interconnection Work?
The grid is becoming more dynamic and increasingly multi-directional.
Generation is no longer concentrated in only a few traditional locations. Today’s system includes a growing mix of:
-Solar
-Wind
-Battery energy storage systems (BESS)
-Gas generation
-Combined cycle plants
-Distributed energy resources
At the same time, the need for highly reliable power continues increasing.
Utilities are building more resilient systems through:
-Additional switching points
-Distribution automation
-Self-healing grid technologies
-Hardening infrastructure with steel and composite materials
-Standardized substation designs to improve efficiency and speed
Equipment sizing is also increasing. Larger transformers and breakers are becoming more common, which continues putting pressure on manufacturing capacity and lead times.
What Are People Underestimating Right Now?
Two things came up repeatedly in conversations across the industry.
First, the amount of infrastructure work that still needs to be done.
Second, the number of qualified people and equipment required to support it.
The scale of the work ahead across transmission, substations, interconnection, and generation is significant. Utilities and industry partners are all trying to move quickly while balancing reliability, resiliency, cost, and long-term planning.
At the same time, the industry is working through ongoing challenges involving:
-Equipment availability
-Transformer lead times
-Skilled workforce development
-Generation capacity
-Energy storage deployment
Final Thoughts
After attending these conferences and speaking with people across the industry, one thing feels very clear:
The utility industry is entering a period of enormous importance and opportunity. Never before has the industry seen such unprecedented potential for load growth while also retiring large amounts of traditional baseload generation. The need for new transmission, substations, interconnection infrastructure, and generation is real and growing quickly.
There is a tremendous amount of work ahead, but it is also an exciting time to be part of the industry and help shape the future of the grid.
If you’re planning your next electrical utility project and would like to discuss how BHMG can be of service, please contact us. We’re happy to share our approach and offer a no-obligation consultation.
Disclaimer: This article is for discussion purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. For engineering services or specific guidance, please consult a qualified, licensed engineer.