CTC Global is pleased to recognize the outstanding work of Grid Strategies and the authors of the new Transmission Congestion for 2024 report: Nathan Shreve, Julia Selker,
Zach Zimmerman, and Richard Doying. Their analysis provides one of the clearest and most comprehensive examinations to date of the nation’s growing congestion challenge and the widening gap between grid capacity and grid demand.
The authors show that transmission congestion is no longer the byproduct of unusual weather, short-term fuel dynamics, or temporary constraints. Instead, congestion has become a persistent, structural condition of the U.S. electric grid. For the fourth straight year, national congestion costs exceeded $10 billion, reaching approximately $12.1 billion in 2024. More importantly, this cost now reflects deep, underlying limitations rather than isolated system events or market fluctuations.
The report illustrates how the modern grid is being strained simultaneously by electrification, rapidly growing loads from new manufacturing and data centers, the expansion of weather-dependent renewable generation, and more frequent extreme-weather events. At the same time, the country is adding new high-voltage transmission at a rate that is far too slow to keep pace. The Department of Energy’s National Transmission Planning Study estimates the U.S. needs to build around 5,000 miles of new high-voltage transmission annually. In 2024, only 888 miles were added—a shortfall with major reliability, affordability, and operational consequences.
One of the report’s most striking insights involves the role of planned outages. In regions such as MISO, nearly a third of all real-time congestion costs last year stemmed from overlapping planned outages. This is a clear signal that the system is operating with so little spare capacity that routine maintenance now triggers significant economic impacts. When a grid lacks headroom, even minor disruptions can magnify into major, market-wide constraints.
Another important contribution of the report is its discussion of interregional limitations. Because congestion studies often focus within RTO boundaries, many of the economic impacts of limited transfer capability between regions go uncounted. Grid Strategies highlights that interregional constraints likely push the “true” cost of congestion much higher than the official figures suggest, particularly during periods of extreme weather or unexpected system stress.
Despite these challenges, the report also points toward meaningful opportunities for near-term improvement. It emphasizes that while new long-distance transmission remains essential, the nation cannot wait a decade or more for every solution. The authors clearly identify Grid-Enhancing Technologies and High-Performance Conductors as some of the fastest, highest-impact strategies available today to relieve congestion and improve operational flexibility.
Dynamic Line Ratings, advanced topology optimization tools, power flow control technologies, and modern composite-core conductors can expand usable capacity, improve situational awareness, reduce curtailments, and increase transfer capability across key corridors. Importantly, these technologies rely on the grid infrastructure that already exists, allowing utilities to unlock additional capacity without the large permitting, siting, and land acquisition challenges associated with new transmission lines.
Among these solutions, high-performance reconductoring stands out for its ability to measurably increase ampacity on existing rights-of-way. This is an area where CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor is uniquely positioned to help. ACCC® utilizes a high-strength, low-sag carbon-fiber composite core that allows more aluminum to be used, enabling significantly higher current-carrying capability compared to traditional steel-reinforced conductors. Because the composite core exhibits very low thermal expansion, it reduces sag under high temperatures, improves ground clearance margins, and increases reliability during peak load and extreme weather conditions. These characteristics allow operators to make full use of the conductor’s high-temperature performance without compromising safety or stability.
In addition to increasing ampacity, ACCC® improves grid efficiency by reducing line losses—an increasingly important consideration as lines operate closer to full capacity and as renewable integration reshapes power flows. Reduced losses not only lower operational costs but also reduce the amount of generation needed to serve load, contributing directly to emissions reduction and improved system sustainability.
Reconductoring with ACCC® does not require new rights-of-way and often does not require new structures. This allows utilities to complete major capacity upgrades within short project windows, frequently categorized as maintenance activities rather than new builds. The speed and scalability of this approach align directly with the urgency highlighted in the Grid Strategies report.
The message from the report is clear: the nation needs a two-track strategy. We must continue to pursue new long-distance transmission wherever possible, but we must also accelerate the deployment of proven, high-impact technologies that strengthen the existing grid. Advanced conductors and GETs are not competing alternatives to new transmission—they are complementary tools that deliver capacity, flexibility, and reliability at the pace today’s grid challenges demand.
CTC Global extends sincere appreciation to Nathan Shreve, Julia Selker, Zach Zimmerman, Richard Doying and Grid Strategies LLC for delivering an exceptionally thorough and timely analysis. Their work adds crucial visibility to a growing national challenge and highlights practical, achievable steps the industry can take today to reduce congestion and support the energy transition.
CTC Global will continue to collaborate with utilities worldwide to help modernize transmission infrastructure, reduce congestion, increase efficiency, and deliver the capacity needed for the grid of the future.
