Transmission is the problem. Reconductoring is part of the solution.

The Department of Energy’s Speed to Power Initiative addressing large-scale transmission and generation projects represents an important step toward ensuring affordable and reliable power, both focus points of the Trump administration’s national energy emergency declaration. The need is significant: In 2022, Grid Strategies estimated that insufficient capacity to deliver the lowest-cost generation cost consumers $20.8 billion. Increased “reconductoring” of aging powerlines stands out as a highly promising tool to remedy this issue quickly. 

The primary barrier, however, may not be reconductoring’s effectiveness, but rather utilities’ lack of experience with it. Unpacking the opportunities and barriers is an essential step toward expanded deployment.

What is reconductoring? 

Reconductoring is a process that swaps out the old wires, or conductors, on a transmission line with new, advanced conductors able to carry more electrical current along the same transmission route with minimal retrofitting or construction and little to no permitting oversight. 

Beyond greater capacity and fewer deployment obstacles, advanced conductors use higher performing materials such as specialized aluminum on the outside and composite rather than steel on the inside, making them stronger and lighter than conductors currently in use. The result is substantially less safety-compromising sag and 10 percent to 30 percent lower loss compared with conventional conductors, all while transmitting more power.

Why do we need it?

In short, reconductoring can increase transmission capacity quickly. 

In 2016, a 240-mile reconductoring project was completed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Not only did the project double transmission capacity with minimal disruptions, it was completed months ahead of schedule and millions of dollars under budget. Globally, more than 90,000 miles of advanced conductors were deployed between 2003 and 2023.

Advanced reconductors have the potential to quadruple transmission capacity expansion in the U.S. by 2035 compared to new builds alone, and could help generate $85 billion in potential cost savings. By building on existing rights-of-way (ROW), developers can avoid lengthy permitting delays and implement this approach between 18 and 36 months. Moreover, the total cost of reconductoring projects on a unit-length basis is less than half that of new builds, due to the avoided costs of new ROWs and structures.

Nevertheless, reconductoring remains extremely underutilized in the U.S.: Only 1 percent of 700,000 miles of existing transmission lines are reconductored or rebuilt every year. 

So, why isn’t it being implemented? 

The main barriers break into three categories: cultural, logistical, and economic. 

Culturally, utilities are traditionally risk averse when it comes to adopting new grid technologies over familiar options. Older conductors, such as Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR), have 50 to 100 years of performance history. Utilities need more data to understand how new conductors would integrate within their systems. 

Logistically, reconductoring exists outside of the regular planning process. At both the national and state levels, planning and permitting models generally don’t incorporate reconductoring, especially if support equipment such as poles needs to be replaced due to age. While some federal regulations have  been relaxed to address this challenge through a new categorical exclusion framework, state regulations are inconsistent. Table 1 shows the regulations across the top 10 states that are expected to experience significant growth in electricity demand. While the majority have plans for fast-track permitting, that has not always translated into implementation. 

Table 1: Reconductoring in top 10 high-growth states and associated regions

Economically, utilities often prefer capital-intensive projects that provide substantial rate-of-return guarantees over less lucrative grid improvement measures such as reconductoring. Though reconductoring is, on the whole, less expensive than a new line, the cost of an advanced conductor can range from 10 percent to 400 percent more than conventional conductors, so from a cost-per-part perspective, utilities view advanced conductors as unnecessarily expensive. Data gaps breed further confusion and disagreement about reconductoring’s impact and, as a result, decrease the likelihood of it being adopted. 

Increasing reconductoring nationwide

The REWIRE Act introduced by Senators Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) is a recent effort to promote reconductoring. The bill would amend the National Environmental Protection Act to make permitting easier for reconductoring and other projects expanding grid capacity in existing ROWs. It would also direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to improve the return on equity for reconductoring projects, along with expanding state access to federal funding for reconductoring initiatives. 

Other steps can also be taken.

The Department of Energy, for instance, could establish standard methodologies that capture reconductoring’s benefits for long-term planning. And state-level planners could study reconductoring’s efficiency, ability to increase grid capacity, reliability, and long-term costs. 

From a deployment perspective, the federal government should look for areas where reconductoring could provide the most benefits and share the data with utility operators. Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) could lead the way by demonstrating the efficacy and reliability of advanced conductors. The federal government could leverage the Western Area Power Administration’s Transmission Infrastructure Package to begin upgrades of federally owned infrastructure or issue a targeted Transmission Facilitation Program round to increase capacity on lines owned or managed by PMAs. Public partnerships should be avoided except for specific supply chain constraints; the Department of Energy has sufficient authority and funding to support a variety of projects without the additional burden from such partnerships. 

Reconductoring won’t enable the grid to meet growing demand alone; greenfield transmission buildout is still necessary. But it is a powerful tool to bridge the gap between short- and long-term grid needs. Identifying, partitioning, and overcoming the obstacles to adoption are important steps on the way to an energy abundant future.