Targeting High-Voltage Transmission

While electric supply and reliability continue to grab news headlines, a new study shows that the high-voltage transmission grid has become “gridlocked in a tangle of infrastructure problems and regulatory uncertainty,” according to Cambridge Research Associates, Cambridge, Mass.

As the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission begins to consider new structures to manage utility transmission facilities, the report, “High Tension: The Future of Power Transmission in America,” urges the government to invest more in the expansion and upgrade of high-voltage lines to transport electricity from generators to end-users.

“These are the highways for electrons, and we need better roads,” said Jan Smutny-Jones, chair of the California Independent System Operator, as quoted in the Los Angeles Times. “What we’re talking about here is fundamental infrastructure, and we need to make sure there is sufficient investment made to move the power around.”

The report also recommends creating interconnections between regional grids to help mitigate supply shortages.

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