The whole of the U.S. transmission grid 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, are proven tools for quickly increasing the capabilities and capacities of transmission lines and 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Yet, these technologies are largely unused in the U.S. today, in part because of outdated electricity business models and state public policy.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 decision-makers. The legislative fix that has become popular among state lawmakers is to require electric utilities to at least consider using ATTs, including GETs and advanced reconductoring, when planning transmission upgrades, and to show their work. One of the first states to pass legislation requiring ATT consideration was Virginia.

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 for championing this first-of-its-kind 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. 

Since then, we’ve successfully passed legislation requiring utilities to consider ATTs when considering transmission grid upgrades in states across the country. California’s version, SB 1006, sponsored by 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. In April 2026, United joined Colorado Governor Jared Polis at the bill signing of ATT legislation, with the state joining several other recent legislative successes, including Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, and Connecticut.

Most recently, our team’s education and on-the-ground advocacy efforts helped secure language supporting ATTs in the Pennsylvania state budget signed in July of 2026. The budget language builds on momentum from May, when the state House passed legislation we championed that requires utilities to evaluate ATTs on both existing and proposed infrastructure, and just before the budget was finalized, we spoke at a bipartisan press conference in Harrisburg, PA, highlighting the affordability and reliability benefits of these technologies.