Newton | From capital to delivery
to systems 5
From projects
The utility industry has historically optimized at the project level. But infrastructure delivery is now system dependent. Generation depends on transmission. Transmission depends on permitting and interconnection. Load growth depends on overall system readiness. Transmission is rapidly becoming more than utility infrastructure. It is becoming national competitiveness infrastructure tied directly to:
These outcomes are often interconnected. At the same time, the industry is recognizing that the challenge is not only building infrastructure faster. It is also extracting greater throughput and flexibility from the system already in place. Utilities are evaluating improved utilization of transmission systems, distribution infrastructure, storage assets, flexible demand and distributed resources to accelerate time to capacity while reducing customer cost. This is changing the definition of infrastructure productivity across the sector. This is especially visible in organized markets such as PJM and ERCOT, where: • generation development • transmission planning • interconnection processes …are deeply interconnected. Large volumes of technically viable generation remain delayed because surrounding transmission systems and approvals cannot move at the same pace. Optimizing individual projects is no longer sufficient. Performance increasingly depends on portfolio throughput across the broader system. The specific constraints vary materially by market structure. The proposed consolidation across the sector reflects this shift. Specifically, the planned merger between NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy is being positioned not simply around scale, but around the ability to buy, build, finance and operate infrastructure more efficiently as projects become larger, more interconnected and more capital intensive. The transaction also reflects how strategic advantage may increasingly shift toward integrated infrastructure platforms with the scale and coordination capability to manage rising system complexity.
• industrial growth • AI infrastructure
• manufacturing expansion • economic development
Transmission supports US global economic competitiveness in an electronic era.” Michael Skelly CEO and Co-Founder of GridUnited
The sequencing of these investments now materially affects: • speed to energization • reliability outcomes • customer affordability • economic growth
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