The transmission grid as a whole in the U.S. is in desperate need of upgrade and build-out, and while much effort is being made to build more long-distance transmission lines, states are looking for additional ways to meet quickly growing electricity demands. Advanced transmission technologies (ATTs), including grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) and advanced conductors, proven tools for quickly increasing the capabilities and capacities of transmission lines, could be used to complement transmission build-out and save consumers money overall. By one estimate, grid-enhancing technologies could have saved consumers $8.3 billion in 2022 alone, had they been more widely used.
Yet, these technologies are largely unused in the U.S. today, in part because of outdated electricity business models and state public policy.
Two years ago, Advanced Energy United launched Transmission Possible, a coalition campaign to bring awareness of the need to build more long-range transmission lines and make much better use of existing lines. With a focus on state legislative action, Transmission Possible educated and supported state decision-makers so they could take the steps needed to improve grid reliability and lower consumer costs by leveraging the power of ATTs.
Since then, this suite of technologies long underutilized in the U.S., is finally getting the attention of state decisionmakers. In 2024 and 2025, Virginia, California, Minnesota, Connecticut, Ohio, and New Mexico each passed legislation requiring electric utilities to consider using ATTs, including GETs and advanced reconductoring, when planning transmission upgrades.
Colorado and New York nearly passed similar legislation in 2025 as well, with more progress anticipated in the coming years.
When Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed H.B. 862 into law–requiring electric utilities in Virginia to consider GETs in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) process–bill sponsor Del. Phil Hernandez thanked Advanced Energy United on social media for championing the legislation from inception to across the finish line.
Weeks later, Del. Phil Hernandez again praised Advanced Energy United for its work supporting the legislation, this time doing it during a panel discussion at the White House Summit on Modernizing the Power Grid.
This success story in Virginia is emblematic of the work Advanced Energy United does in state houses across the country. California’s version, SB 1006, sponsored by Advanced Energy United and passed in 2024, requires utilities to analyze opportunities for both GETs and advanced reconductoring deployment, so the state can incorporate them into its transmission planning processes. In New Mexico, Advanced Energy United successfully led a coalition effort to pass similar legislation into law in 2025.