The April 2025 report, Incorporating GETs and HPCs into Transmission Planning Under FERC Order 1920 stands as a powerful and timely contribution to our collective understanding of how the U.S. grid can and must evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly electrifying world. Prepared by The Brattle Group and Grid Strategies for the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), this work is a comprehensive guide to the integration of Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) and High-Performance Conductors (HPCs) into long-term transmission planning. It should be a required reading for every transmission planner, regulator, utility executive, and policymaker in the U.S.
We extend our sincere appreciation to the report’s principal authors—T. Bruce Tsuchida, Linquan Bai, and S. Ziyi Tang of The Brattle Group, and Jay Caspary of Grid Strategies—as well as the WATT and AMP Coalitions and contributors like Gabriel Isaac Davis and Eryn Carlson’s editorial team. Their diligent research and forward-thinking approach have delivered an essential roadmap aligned with FERC Orders 1920 and 1920-A, which demand scenario-based, benefits-driven planning that is urgently needed to modernize America’s grid.
Key Takeaways: Why This Report Matters
This report offers a clear vision: deploying Alternative Transmission Technologies (ATTs), including GETs and HPCs, is no longer optional—it is imperative. Faced with unprecedented load growth from AI-driven data centers, electrified transport and industry, and mounting reliability risks from aging infrastructure and extreme weather, traditional grid expansion methods are proving too slow and costly.
FERC’s Order 1920 mandates a shift to long-term, scenario-based transmission planning that quantifies seven specific benefits, including:
- Reduced congestion and transmission losses,
- Deferred infrastructure investments,
- Improved system reliability during extreme weather,
- And enhanced grid efficiency and optionality.
What’s critical is that the report provides evidence—from 25 real-world case studies—demonstrating that GETs and HPCs can deliver all seven benefits. These technologies are proven, scalable, and economically advantageous. Yet despite this, they face persistent barriers such as outdated planning frameworks, misaligned utility incentives, and insufficient analytical tools.
High-Performance Conductors: A Spotlight on CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor
Among the most promising technologies discussed are High-Performance Conductors—a category essentially defined and led by CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor. CTC Global pioneered this Advanced Carbon Composite Core Conductor Technology, which has now been deployed worldwide to modernize and expand transmission capability efficiently and cost-effectively.
As the report details, HPCs:
- Carry 50% to 100% more power than traditional steel-core conductors,
- Reduce thermal sag and line losses,
- Can often be installed on existing structures without the need for new rights-of-way,
- Enable “right-sizing” of aging infrastructure without long delays or excessive cost.
Case studies such as Southern California Edison’s rebuild of the Big Creek corridor, where ACCC® Conductor technology enabled a 40% capacity increase while slashing project time from 48 to 18 months, exemplify the practical and economic superiority of this approach. In regions like PJM and SPP, reconductoring with advanced conductors often costs half as much as building new lines, with dramatically shorter timelines.
A Call to Action: Seizing the Opportunity
This report makes a compelling case: HPCs like ACCC® Conductor and smart GETs are not mere enhancements—they are essential to a 21st-century grid. Transmission planners, state regulators, and utilities must now embrace these tools not only to meet rising load and reliability demands, but also to deliver better outcomes for consumers and accelerate the clean energy transition.
As the report wisely concludes, the future grid must be:
- Efficient by reducing losses and curtailments,
- Flexible to handle uncertainty and new technologies,
- Fast in deployment to match the speed of demand growth,
- And fair in its cost and benefit distribution.
CTC Global is proud to lead in the deployment of high-performance conductor solutions and remains committed to supporting FERC’s vision with proven, high-value technologies.
Let’s build the future grid smarter—and let’s start now.
