With electricity demand in California forecast to increase by 7.5% by 2030, due in part to data center demand, and 42% by 2045 as buildings and transportation electrify, California’s grid is at an inflection point. Utilities across the state are looking for a way to add additional capacity faster and cheaper while longer-term solutions are built.

Advanced Transmission Technologies (ATTs) give California important tools to manage load growth and keep costs down. ATTs get more capacity out of the transmission grid, but these commercially available technologies are underutilized in the U.S. compared to Europe and South America. The California legislature put urgency behind modernizing the grid in 2024 with the passage of SB 1006, which, for the first time, required utilities to systematically evaluate potential ATT projects within their planning workflows.

A new report by the WATT Coalition and AMP Coalition examines the progress to date of utilities in evaluating the benefits of ATTs at the system level and identifying impactful projects. It also offers lessons learned and recommendations to help guide effective future evaluation of and investment in ATTs.

California is well positioned to lead the country in deploying ATTs, but utilities across the state still have room to improve upon their evaluation frameworks and ensure that the variety of system-wide benefits that potential ATT projects could bring are not overlooked.

The report was developed by Grid Strategies, WATT, and AMP Coalition staff and produced in collaboration with partners at Macro Grid Initiative, Environment California, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245.