transmission

Three interregional transmission lines connecting six U.S. states will receive the first $1.3 billion tranche of $2.5 billion in federal funding designated under the Transmission Facilitation Program (TFP), a revolving fund enacted by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grid Deployment Office’s (GDO’s) first picks under the TFP, unveiled on […]

A Vermont utility has filed a plan with state regulators that would enable the power company to offer more customers battery energy storage to keep the lights on during outages. Green Mountain Power (GMP), which has about 270,000 customers, said it wants to have its plan in place by 2030. GMP on Oct. 9 asked […]

Wood, steel, and concrete are commonly used materials for power poles. However, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) offers a relatively lightweight, safe, and resilient alternative, which also offers a long service

The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is poised to become the first regional transmission organization (RTO) to provide coordinated operation across the Eastern and Western Interconnections, bridging a historic gap to potentially boost regional reliability, savings, and efficiencies. SPP, which has operated as an RTO since 2004, currently has 110 member companies in its Eastern Interconnection […]

Incremental unplanned generation outages triggered during Winter Storm Elliott spiked to 90.5 GW—significantly more than the 61.8 GW during Winter Storm Uri in 2021—representing 13% of the U.S. portion of anticipated resources in the Eastern Interconnection. That finding, one of many disturbing details unveiled by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and North American Electric […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved key transmission reforms aimed at clearing a staggering backlog of more than 10,000 generation and storage projects—more than 2,000 GW—stalled in interconnection queues across the country. Order 2023, a final rule unanimously adopted by FERC’s four commissioners at a July 27 open meeting and posted in full […]

South Africa is in the midst of an energy crisis characterized by electricity shortages, blackouts, and lack of new infrastructure investment. Eskom, the state-owned utility supplying more than 90% of the nation’s electricity, has suffered from operational failures, maintenance issues, and breakdowns at aging, poorly maintained power stations, leading to steady declines in the energy […]

The 19th century battle between Nikolai Tesla’s alternating current (AC) and Thomas Edison’s direct current (DC) technologies had an undisputed winner. The vast majority of the world’s transmission and distribution grids work now on AC. But DC—and high-voltage direct current (HVDC)—is attracting renewed interest. New Applications Emerge for HVDC The benefits of HVDC include its […]

Utilities need to modernize their grid infrastructure but face a unique challenge: change is tricky when the stakes are high. Technology is changing faster than ever, from the latest smartphones and devices to automated tools being introduced across industries to ease workloads. For essential mission-critical services such as electric power, failure is not an option. […]

A project to build more than 100 miles of transmission lines, along with multiple substations, to enable the use of more renewable energy in Maine has received support from state lawmakers. LS Power Grid Maine, a subsidiary of New York-headquartered LS Power, on June 26 said the Aroostook Renewable Gateway effort has received the first […]