About

Every day, Americans rely on the energy grid to power our lives. Thanks to a network of transmission lines that carry energy from where it’s generated to where it’s used, we’re able to heat and cool our homes, keep the lights on in our businesses, and even charge our vehicles. We rarely think about it — until the power goes out. Unfortunately, that’s happening more often. Part of the problem is most of America’s transmission lines were built in the 1950s and 1960s, and were only intended to have a 50-year lifespan. We’re way overdue for an upgrade.

Our Mission

Transmission Possible, a project of Advanced Energy United™ and a coalition of partners, is working to educate, engage, and build support across the United States for enhanced and expanded transmission capacity. We know that every place is different, so we are focused on creating new, state-specific resources and materials to support efforts to build new transmission lines and improve existing infrastructure. If we work together across state and regional boundaries to deliver reliable, affordable, renewable energy to everyone, we can create a clean energy future. Transmission Possible is committed to building support across the country for new and updated transmission lines. We are working to:

  1. Educate

    about the need for new, improved, and additional transmission

  2. Engage

    new audiences about the benefits of transmission, particularly in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Western U.S.

  3. Build

    momentum and support across the United States for transmission policies, including Grid-Enhancing Technologies

  4. Accelerate

    the planning, siting, and permitting procedures for transmission projects and resolve procedural bottlenecks

  5. Upgrade

    the transmission grid swiftly to bring more renewable resources online and support a growing clean energy economy

FAQs

What is the transmission grid?

Transmission lines are large wires that move electricity from where it’s created to where it’s used, often over long distances. Like our roads and bridges, transmission infrastructure is vital to our modern way of life — but the lines we have today are either too old or too small to deliver all the energy we need, and sometimes they don’t exist at all in the places we need them most.

What are the benefits of updating the transmission grid?

To power a prosperous 21st century economy, the US will need to build 91,000 miles of new transmission lines within the next 13 years.

Developing this transmission infrastructure would deliver enormous benefits, including:

  • NEW JOBS: Investing in transmission infrastructure will produce at least 650,000 new good-paying jobs, especially in rural areas.
  • MORE RELIABLE ENERGY: Summers are getting hotter and winters are bringing more intense storms. Transmission infrastructure can help ensure energy reliability, even when extreme temperatures hit. A strong transmission grid will make it easier for utilities to coordinate resources over a wide geographic footprint to help keep the lights on.
  • LOWER ELECTRICITY BILLS: Provide $2.3 billion in energy cost savings for the lower 80% of income earners and save the average household $300 per year. That’s more money back in the pockets of families and small business owners.
  • AN ACCELERATED TRANSITION TO CLEAN ENERGY: Today, 15 states hold two-thirds of the country’s clean energy potential, but they only consume one-third of the nation’s total energy. With robust transmission infrastructure, we can deliver clean energy to everyone, wherever they live.
  • HEALTHY COMMUNITIES: Millions of Americans today live within three miles of a fossil fuel plant, and a disproportionate number of whom are Black and Hispanic. This proximity increases exposure to air pollution, which is linked to respiratory illness and millions of premature deaths. Building transmission lines will allow us to transport clean energy to everyone and bring on more clean energy, so all of us can breathe freely.
Is the only answer building new lines — can we also update existing lines?

Our transmission infrastructure is way overdue for an upgrade — but new transmission projects can take years to complete. We don’t have time to waste if we’re going to keep pace with our electrification needs, and there are opportunities to make our current transmission grid more efficient while we build the grid for the future. We can deploy Grid-enhancing technologies

What are grid-enhancing technologies and how do they work?

GETs are tools that make our power grid more flexible, reliable, efficient and can safely and quickly increase the capacity to help integrate more renewable energy. Transmission lines are like the roads and bridges of our power system, carrying energy from where it’s generated to where it’s used. Just as smart highway engineering and traffic signals help to moderate the flow of cars on the road, grid-enhancing technologies can prevent traffic jams in our transmission infrastructure and keep energy flowing smoothly and efficiently.

Some examples of grid-enhancing technologies include:

  • Dynamic Line Ratings, which determine the true, real-time capacity of power lines so grid operators can avoid problems before they occur.
  • Power Flow Controllers, which allow operators to reroute power to lines with available capacity and increase the overall amount of power in the system.
  • Topology Optimization, which helps identify bottlenecks and prevent lines from becoming too congested.
Why is the US facing more blackouts than in the past and how will upgrading transmission infrastructure help?

In 2023, experts warned that two-thirds of North America could experience an energy shortfall during summer heat waves — a combination that poses serious threats to public health. Building more transmission lines across broad geographic footprints could strengthen our grid. By allowing grid operators to access energy from more sources, robust transmission infrastructure can ensure power is restored to homes and businesses more quickly in the event of an outage — or even prevent blackouts in the first place.