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Benefits of ATTs Compared to Traditional Upgrades

Fact sheet More Efficiency (ATTs & GETs)

Advanced transmission technologies can double the capacity of existing lines and cut congestion costs 25–50%, with most upgrades in place in one to three years. U.S. utilities still rarely use them.

About Advanced Transmission Technologies (ATTs)

Advanced Transmission Technologies (ATTs) are infrastructure, hardware, and software options that cost-effectively increase the capacity and resilience of the transmission grid. While these technologies have been commercialized and have an established track record, they are not yet default solutions considered by most U.S. transmission owners. ATTs can be broken out into three broad categories including:

  1. Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) such as Dynamic Line Ratings, Advanced Power Flow Control, and Topology Optimization – learn more at watt-transmission.org;

  2. High-Performance Conductors (HPCs) such as Carbon / Composite Core Conductors and Superconductors – learn more at ampcoalition.org; and

  3. Other ATTs, such as storage-as-transmission.

Cost Savings

By impeding access to existing lower-cost generation and the interconnection of new lower-cost resources, grid constraints cost U.S. consumers billions of dollars every year. By alleviating congestion, ATTs can pay for themselves faster than traditional infrastructure.

Examples:

  • GETs: RMI found in 2024 that GETs could save more than $500M in upgrade costs for 6 GW of new energy resources.

  • Topology Optimization: Studies in PJM, MISO, SPP and ERCOT markets show congestion costs reduced by 25-50% and resource curtailment reduced by 50%.

  • Dynamic Line Rating (DLR): PPL Electric Utilities deployed DLR to avoid over $20M in annual grid congestion costs.

  • HPCs: Reconductoring with HPCs can double the capacity using existing infrastructure at approximately half the cost of building a new transmission line.

Fast Upgrades

Traditional transmission upgrades take up to 10 years to build – ATTs can be deployed in one to three years and avoid the time-consuming need to site and permit new infrastructure.

Examples:

  • GETs: At the system level, GETs can double the capacity of new generation integrated into the existing transmission grid, per a Brattle Group study.

  • HPCs: Using existing rights-of- ways for reconductoring and rebuilds reduces the time required for permitting, construction, and acquiring new land compared to new transmission lines.

  • DLR: PPL Electric Utilities deployed DLR to increase transmission capacity in less than 1 year with no outages. It would take 3 to 5 years with extended outages to rebuild the lines.

Resilience & Reliability

ATTs can give operators new tools for managing reliability by measuring and unlocking the grid’s dynamic capabilities and providing grid operators additional flexibility or headroom.

Examples:

  • Advanced Power Flow Control (AFPC): Colombia used APFC to mitigate a transmission outage, saving at least $70M over a 3.5 year outage period.

  • Topology Optimization: MISO implemented a reconfiguration solution to mitigate costs from a major transmission outage, saving ~$40M over a nine-month period by successfully and reliably increasing throughput by up to 56% in the area.

  • HPCs: By reducing line sag compared to traditional steel-core conductors, HPCs can help reduce wildfire risk.

Lower Land Impacts

ATTs can defer the need for construction of new transmission infrastructure or allow for expansion of transmission capacity using existing rights-of-way.

Examples:

  • HPCs: Reconductoring and rebuilding existing rights-of-ways, eliminates the need to disturb land for construction in new corridors. HPCs can also reduce the number of transmission towers needed for new line builds. In addition, superconductors operate at much lower voltages while still delivering significant amounts of power in much smaller corridors.

Increased Power Transfer

ATTs can increase the capacity of transmission lines allowing for greater power transfers from the existing infrastructure.

Examples:

  • HPCs: Composite/Carbon Core Conductors double transmission capacity, while superconductors can quintuple capacity.

  • DLR: Deploying DLR created an average increase of 47% in line capacity in Massachusetts, and up to 60% increase in line capacity for the New York Power Authority.

  • APFC: National Grid Electricity Transmission is using APFC to solve grid congestion and unlock over 2 GW of capacity across multiple boundaries in Northern England.

Greater Efficiency

ATTs can reduce energy losses or transmission lines or increase grid utilization.

Examples:

  • HPCs: Reduce energy losses by at least 20% for Composite/Carbon Core Conductors, and 50-80% for superconductors.

  • GETs: The Brattle Group found that deploying GETs on the Kansas and Oklahoma grids could increase the utilization of high-voltage 345kV lines by 15-22%.

Advanced Transmission Technologies Benefits Sources

Please reference the collection of reports and case studies below for further details on ATTs.

  • GETs and HPCs – U.S. Department of Energy, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Innovative Grid Deployment (April 2024), https://liftoff.energy.gov/innovative-grid-deployment/.

  • HPCs – ACORE and Grid Strategies, Advanced Conductors to Accelerate Grid Decarbonization (March 2022), https://acore.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Advanced_Conductors_to_Accelerate_Grid_Decarbonization.pdf.

  • HPCs – GridLab, Reconductoring with Advanced Conductors Can Accelerate the Rapid Transmission Expansion Required for a Clean Grid (April 2024), https://haas.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/WP343.pdf.

  • HPCs – Energy Innovation and GridLab, Supporting Advanced Conductor Deployment: Barriers and Policy Solutions (April 2024), https://www.2035report.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/5.3-Reconductoring-policy-report.pdf.

  • GETs – The Brattle Group, Building a Better Grid: How Grid-Enhancing Technologies Complement Transmission Buildouts (April 2023), https://watt-transmission.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Building-a-Better-Grid-How-Grid-Enhancing-Technologies-Complement-Transmission-Buildouts.pdf.

  • GETs – WATT Coalition, “Case Studies and Modeling on the Value of Grid-Enhancing-Technologies” (January 2024), https://watt-transmission.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Case-Studies-and-Modeling-on-the-Value-of-Grid-Enhancing-Technologies-%E2%80%93-January-2024-.pdf.