EIA data on utility capital spending over the past 20 years shows that an increase in distribution and transmission spending outweighed declines in generation spending.

Texas regulators approved the state’s first utility resiliency plan, a $3 billion proposal from Oncor to bulk up its distribution system over the next four years to better withstand and more quickly recover extreme weather and other events.

The new report argues that discussions about building electrification largely leave out one key issue: how to prepare the grid for the higher demand and new consumption patterns associated with the shift.

While most customers have seen their power restored since Hurricane Helene hit, some of the hardest hit and most remote customers could wait weeks to get their lights back.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved grid modernization plans from electric distribution companies to handle increasing electrification and the deployment of distributed resources.

The use of distributed energy resources can reduce grid costs, delay system upgrades, authors contend.

The U.S. Department of Energy finalized energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers to increase grid efficiency and save $824 million annually. 

Transmission limits remain a major barrier to scaling up wind and solar energy to meet state decarbonization goals, speakers at the NECA’s Renewable Energy Conference said.