This report, Utility Perspectives on Making Grid-Enhancing Technologies Work: Use Cases, Barriers, and Recommendations for Scalable Deployment, discusses the ability of these flexible, scalable technologies to quickly improve system performance today, as major transmission expansion proceeds.

As the U.S. electricity system experiences rising demand, a changing resource mix, and an aging grid infrastructure, major transmission expansion is essential. Long-term reliability and efficiency depend on sustained investment in high-capacity transmission, regional build-outs, and interregional ties. Yet while these projects are foundational to a modern, resilient grid, they take time. To address immediate needs while those projects advance, flexible, scalable technologies can be quickly implemented to improve system performance today. This report grew out of the work of ESIG’s GETs User Group, composed of a diverse group of transmission utilities and system operators that are actively using or planning to use GETs.

GETs in this report include dynamic line rating, advanced conductors, advanced power flow control, and transmission topology optimization, and can address these immediate needs by unlocking underutilized capacity, rerouting flows around congestion, and improving the efficiency and adaptability of existing infrastructure. Many can be installed and operational in a matter of months, often without new rights-of-way, and at a fraction of the cost of traditional upgrades.

This report synthesizes utility experience, planning guidance, regulatory action, and real-world deployment examples. It outlines practical steps to accelerate the adoption of GETs, clarify modeling practices, and integrate these technologies into planning, markets, and operations. By working collaboratively across the industry, stakeholders can move GETs from pilot programs to standard practice—ensuring the grid is equipped to meet the demands of today and the future, while long-term transmission projects are planned and built.