Power system planners are racing to bring large loads like AI data centers online faster, but they're often missing solutions that could boost capacity quickly while long-term fixes are negotiated, according to analysts and stakeholders interviewed by Utility Dive. Shortages of skilled workers and grid equipment are slowing new generation buildout to meet rising demand, while market reforms face prolonged regulatory processes. In response to federal directives, planners are focused on innovative integrations of large loads and generation to create more transmission availability, but experts say there should be greater emphasis on interventions like high-capacity conductors and advanced transmission technologies that are more cost-effective and can quickly make room for new large loads.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued "show cause" orders to six system operators on June 18, directing them to submit plans for speeding large load interconnections. All six requested more time to develop processes for bringing these loads online without passing costs to other customers or threatening system reliability. PJM Interconnection may see 70% of future U.S. data center development, and with costs spiking, it's under pressure from the region's governors, legislators, and FERC to comply with the orders. Transmission investments are increasing, but most projects continue to be driven by reliability and asset renewal needs rather than load growth, according to FERC's 2025 State of the Market report. At least six states have passed laws since 2024 requiring utilities to consider advanced transmission technologies.
A July report by the Energy Systems Integration Group and the Brattle Group titled "Transmission Planning with Large Loads" says a new framework is needed and must include load flexibility and allow for scenario-based, least-regrets planning. The report must also allow for the uncertainty in today's load growth forecasts, said paper co-author Johannes Pfeifenberger, a principal with The Brattle Group. That means including "fast and cost-effective near-term options that address speed to power," like advanced carbon conductors with fiber sensing and analytics, "while longer-term transmission solutions are being planned and built," he added. Zachary Zimmerman, Grid Strategies' director of research and policy, said FERC Order 1920 created a "robust framework" to address uncertainties, but noted that "there has not been a complete rethink of utility planning yet."
Large loads require a shift from project-by-project upgrades to proactive and coordinated long-term planning, the ESIG and Brattle Group report finds. Advanced transmission technologies and high-capacity conductors can be deployed in 36 months or less to cut costs and in some cases double transmission capacity on a line, according to a recent ClearPath report cited in the article. Regional planners should be required to put advanced conductors and advanced transmission technologies in the planning process early on, because planning that only includes them as an afterthought misses their system-wide optimization value, said Theodore Paradise, chief policy and grid strategy officer for advanced powerline manufacturer CTC Global. The Southwest Power Pool has emerged as a potential model for holistic grid planning, with its recently-approved Consolidated Planning Process praised by FERC officials because it "explicitly brings different planning tracks together," while other regions are only developing elements of coordination.
Policymakers "now realize the new large load forecasts are real," but "they are still not enabling the urgently needed short-term solutions," Paradise said. Advanced technologies aren't being broadly integrated despite validation work by large utilities such as AEP in Texas, PPL in Pennsylvania, and Southern California Edison. The urgency driven by large load growth means new transmission must be built, and deploying advanced technologies in the process is the more efficient solution, said James Okullo, director of system planning with the Energy Systems Integration Group. Using advanced transmission technologies can expand availability of existing transmission and lower customer costs while long-term structural reforms work through regulatory channels.