Utility grids in the northeast, central, and western US are projected to become winter peaking utilities rather than summer peaking as building fossil fuel use is converted to electricity. And due to current low load factors on the electric grid, there is significant head room to support large increases in base load electricity demand without significant upgrades to the grid. Many utilities believe they can meet load for electrifying buildings and transportation easily, much like they managed to meet aggressive growth in demand post World War II. The fact is however, that the economy of 70 years ago is vastly different than the economy today. In addition, population densities have increased, rural areas have become more fully developed, and grid operations and controls are more advanced managing multiple interconnections and grid edge resources. Siting new generation and T&D infrastructure across multiple states and jurisdictions is more complex than it was 70 years ago. And the costs of optimizing grid operations and managing grid-edge DERs at scale presents a whole new set of challenges.
