As Utah Begins Modernizing Its Electric Grid, Other States Should Follow Suit
At briefing on advanced transmission technologies, experts show cost and reliability benefits
As states grapple with how to meet rising energy demand, lawmakers across the nation are turning to a promising solution to modernize the grid and help bring new electricity generation projects online. Advanced transmission technologies—or ATTs—are a suite of software and hardware tools that boost transmission lines’ capacity to squeeze more electricity out of the grid and enable the addition of new resources.
Legislators in more than 15 states have passed bills to increase utilities’ deployment of ATT’s onto the transmission system, including in Utah, where Governor Spencer Cox (R) signed H.B. 212 into law in March, after it advanced unanimously through the legislature.
This new law requires electric utilities in the state to analyze the cost-effectiveness and timeline for the deployment of ATTs in any proposal to expand the transmission system. Now, the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC)— the regulators who oversee public utilities and their proposed investments—is tasked with implementing the law, which means Utah is evaluating these technologies in the context of its utilities regulation system.
To support that implementation, The Pew Charitable Trusts hosted a technical briefing on ATTs for PSC commissioners and their staff on July 15 in Salt Lake City. The briefing featured presentations from Rocky Mountain Power (the local utility), national transmission policy organizations Grid Strategies and GridLab, and Pew staff, among others.
Julia Selker of the WATT Coalition, a trade organization for ATTs, gave an overview of the ATTs that Utah utilities can consider using to bolster its transmission system. She explained that the multiple types of ATTs all expand grid capacity and can be installed in relatively short timelines of one to three years.
Among other technologies, Selker emphasized advanced power flow controllers—small devices that allow operators to direct electricity flows to avoid congested areas of the grid. She also provided information about topology optimization, which uses sophisticated software to determine the best use of the transmission system based on available power sources, demand, and congestion. Selker then highlighted the variety of benefits these technologies create, including lower costs for consumers and the ability to bring new generation resources online quickly.
Representatives from Rocky Mountain Power gave an overview of its parent company PacifiCorp’s use of ATTs, including dynamic line rating (DLR) systems, which are small sensors installed along transmission lines to give grid operators real-time insights into temperature and weather conditions, enabling them to safely increase the amount of power flowing through the lines. PacifiCorp installed DLR in 2014 on a line in Wyoming, which allowed the line to carry more electricity, and has plans to implement DLR on additional lines.
One ATT that generated particular interest during the briefing was advanced conductors, which use carbon or composite materials instead of steel for the line core and increase the amount of electricity that lines can carry. Advanced conductors also reduce the risk of wildfires because they do not sag in high temperatures. Steel-core lines soften and sag during extreme heat events, potentially coming into contact with vegetation and presenting a major wildfire risk in Utah.
Furthermore, because advanced conductors can be installed on existing poles, utilities can use them to increase capacity without adding new transmission towers. PacifiCorp shared data showing that the company had deployed advanced conductors on approximately 300 miles of their transmission system in other states.
State policymakers can speed up the adoption of ATTs through education and legislation. Utah’s approach of using utilities’ formal regulatory proceedings to evaluate ATTs is a policy mechanism that other states can replicate. States should also follow Utah’s lead in hosting information-sharing opportunities with stakeholders, which would help advance ATT integration—and grid reliability and affordability—around the U.S.
A recording of the July 15, 2025, technical briefing is available on the Utah Public Service Commission’s YouTube Channel.
Jenny Netherton works for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ energy modernization project.
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