T&D POWER Direct

Welcome to the July issue of T&D POWER Direct, a monthly e-newsletter from POWER magazine that provides important news and information focused on transmission and distribution (T&D) topics, including articles on new technology, operations and maintenance best practices, industry trends, innovative projects, and much more.

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Out of Sync: The Infrastructure Misalignment Undermining the U.S. Grid | U.S. power infrastructure—the intricate physical fabric that laces together generation, transmission, and distribution—is under intensifying strain. Outdated and overextended, it must now absorb relentless growth from electrification and data centers or risk escalating reliability threats, surging costs, and a weakened global competitive edge. POWER examines the dysfunction and what it will actually take to future-proof the grid financially, physically, and institutionally.

Microgrids: Decentralized Power That’s Central to the Energy Transition | Microgrids have been an integral part of the energy transition, supporting the growth of decentralized power generation. The legacy of power generation has been large, centralized power plants, providing electricity to a wide area. The advent of microgrids brought energy to areas without transmission lines, and they’re now an important source of backup power, in many cases supporting critical operations in need of a constant, reliable supply of electricity. Some microgrids use fossil fuels, including natural gas and diesel, and the systems have helped support renewable energy by utilizing solar and wind power, along with battery energy storage systems (BESS).

How Decreasing Inertia Is Affecting Power Grids and What to Do About It | Concerning power grid operation, inertia refers to the energy stored in the rotating masses of synchronous generators, typically found in conventional power plants such as coal, gas, nuclear, and hydropower facilities. This stored kinetic energy provides an automatic and instantaneous response to fast frequency changes in the grid.

In Case You Missed It: Grid Enhancing Technologies Do Exactly What They Say | The world’s electricity grids are facing unprecedented strain as demand surges from electrification, data centers, and renewable energy integration, while aging infrastructure struggles to keep pace. Traditional approaches to grid expansion—building new transmission lines and substations—face mounting challenges including sometimes decade-long permitting processes, escalating costs that can reach billions per project, and growing public resistance to new infrastructure. This mounting pressure has created an urgent need for innovative solutions that can unlock the hidden capacity already embedded within existing transmission networks.

Analysis: FERC Denies Hypothetical Capital Structure Incentive for Valley Link Transmission Project | The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on May 13 of this year issued an order addressing the formula rate filings and requests for transmission rate incentives for the Valley Link Transmission Project Portfolio. The project is a $3-billion, 417-mile multi-state transmission initiative spanning Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia (collectively, Valley Link).

Eaton, TVA Turning Retired Bull Run Coal Plant into Critical Grid Asset | Intelligent power management company Eaton is working with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to repurpose the utility’s retired Bull Run Fossil Plant in Clinton, Tennessee, into a critical asset supporting reliable and clean energy.

Utilities, Grid Operators Grapple with Adding Renewable Energy | Integrating renewable energy resources such as solar and wind into the electric power grid involves addressing challenges, starting with the intermittent nature of renewables. POWER has often highlighted the issues, noting in part a lack of physical grid capacity to accommodate supply and demand in locations with the best resources. Another issue is that as the share of renewable energy increases, the lack of real-time network management at low voltages can bring network instability, which impacts reliability. Other problems include voltage instabilities, frequency inconsistency, and harmonic distortion of the power system.

Adding Stability and Reliability to the Western Australian Grid | Large distances are something you get used to if you live in Australia. Perth, on the west coast, is about 2,500 miles away from Brisbane on the east coast. Even within the state of Western Australia (WA), the distances are immense. There are two separate non-integrated grids that only serve part of the state.

Hitachi, Southwest Power Pool Join to Develop AI-Based Grid Solution | The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) regional transmission organization (RTO) is joining with energy technology company Hitachi on development of what the groups say is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based solution to support power transmission reliability and flexibility challenges.

UK’s National Grid Investing Billions for Substation Site to Power Data Centers | National Grid in the UK has begun construction of a new Uxbridge Moor substation complex in Buckinghamshire, a project designed to connect more than one dozen new data centers to the electricity provider’s network.

Tri-State Expanding Participation in Southwest Power Pool | After years of collaboration with other regional utilities, transmission providers and stakeholders, Tri-State has filed an application to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CoPUC) as the cooperative power supplier plans to expand its participation in the Southwest Power Pool Regional Transmission Organization (SPP RTO) in the West.

Unlocking Opportunities in AI Through Power Demand, Administration’s Initiatives | The U.S. is bracing for a reality where artificial intelligence and data centers overwhelm the power grid, and rightfully so, as America seeks to lead the global AI race. But this push is coming at the same time that the federal government is reshuffling fiscal priorities and prioritizing energy independence. While that dynamic may seem like a challenging juxtaposition, one thing is clear: regardless of political affiliation or preferred priority, if the U.S. wants to lead the world in AI, it must power it first.