There have been numerous pronouncements recently about the upcoming demise of the bulk power grid as consumers are projected to move toward decentralized green energy sources. We don’t believe that the end of the electric grid is nigh upon us.

Investment in Transmission Grows

In the last decade, low load growth in the U.S. has been accompanied by continued transmission growth. Although the percent of load growth is declining or flat nationwide, investment in the transmission system is increasing. In addition, recent trends suggest that decarbonization efforts—installation of renewable resources and distributed energy resources—will likely be accompanied by increasing transmission expansion. Other factors are contributing to the increased transmission system investment as well.

Annual electric load growth has trended downward over our lifetimes, from 9.8% annual growth in the 1950s to 0.7% in the first decade of the 21st century. Nonetheless, the load itself continues to grow as does transmission system investment. Annual investment in the transmission system increased from around $ 2 billion in 1997, to $ 14 billion in 2012, an annual growth rate of almost 14%.…

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