Policy In a Box

Advanced Electric Grid Optimization Solutions

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The level of State Energy Office engagement in supporting governors and state legislatures in policy development varies from state to state and is frequently dependent on factors such as the State Energy Office’s authority, as outlined in its enabling legislation, as well as where the State Energy Office sits within state government. The examples below demonstrate how State Energy Offices can work alongside state legislatures as well as advance policy discussions through alternative methods.

Legislative Initiatives

Many State Energy Offices regularly respond to governors’ and state legislators’ requests regarding the development of legislation as technical experts or at the direction of the governor:

The Utah Office of Energy Development (the State Energy Office) has directly supported, at the direction of the governor, state legislators in the development of advanced electric grid optimization solutions legislation. In 2025, H.B. 212 passed into law. The legislation encourages cost-effectiveness analyses and approval procedures in the case that large-scale electric utilities decide to pursue advanced transmission technologies. The State Energy Office provided guidance to the governor and legislature in determining meaningful legislation for the state as well as scope. Additionally, the Utah Office of Energy Development worked with local non-governmental organizations to identify their interests and priorities and set up discussions between these organizations and legislators.
In fall 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law Chapter 239 of the Acts of 2024, which included several provisions regarding advanced grid solutions. Both the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs collaborated with the state legislature in developing many of these components and advocated for their inclusion in the final bill.
- Additionally, both the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs engaged with utilities and transmission developers to understand jurisdictional boundaries and practical paths forward to ensure the meaningful consideration of advanced electric grid optimization solutions in state regulatory processes. Massachusetts also works alongside other states in New England to enhance the consideration of advanced grid solutions in regional transmission planning.
The table below includes an overview of states in which some level of legislative action on the topic of advanced electric grid optimization solutions has been taken.

State	Bill	Status	Summary	Technology Addressed					Studies Required	Regulatory Mechanisms Addressed	Benefits Outlined	Utility Structure
				Dynamic Line Rating	Advanced Power Control	Topology Optimization	Advanced Conductors	Other				Non-market region	RTO/ISO
Virginia	H.B.862	Enacted 2024	Requires utilities to consider the potential application of GETs and advanced conductors in their integrated resource plans.	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Yes	Yes	Improves grid reliability and increases the capacity of the existing grid.		✓
Utah	H.B.212	Enacted 2025	Requires companies to conduct cost-effectiveness and timetable analyses of advanced transmission technologies integration during transmission and/or distribution expansion or improvement and report to the Public Service Commission.	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Voluntary	Yes	Incentivizes deployment of advanced transmission technologies.	✓
South Carolina	H. 3309	Enacted 2025	Requires electrical utilities, electric cooperatives, municipally owned electric utilities, and the South Carolina Public Service Authority to submit integrated resource plans. Integrated resource plans must include a report describing the evaluation of alternative transmission technologies as a potential solution to identified transmission needs.		✓		✓	✓	Yes	Yes	Requires utilities to evaluate advanced grid optimization technologies to address system needs.	✓
Ohio	H.B 15	Enacted 2025	Defines advanced transmission technologies, requires transmission line owners to include an evaluation of potential uses of specific advanced transmission technologies to meet the system’s demand in their annual Long-term Forecast Report to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), requires a PUCO Study on advanced transmission technologies in which the PUCO must hold two public workshops, and mandates the consideration of advanced transmission technologies in the siting process.	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Yes	Yes	Encourages the use of advanced transmission technologies to meet demand and alleviate grid congestion and requires a report on findings.		✓
New York	S.B.S7868 & A.9105	Vetoed 2024	Requires review of GET usage for any transmission and/or distribution project, allows for incentives, and requires a 5-year annual compliance filing for use of GETs.	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Yes	Yes	Mandates the deployment of cost-effective grid-enhancing technologies by distribution companies to ensure increased grid capacity and efficiency.		✓
New Mexico	H.B. 93	Enacted 2025	Allows utilities to incorporate advanced grid technologies into their grid modernization plans and incorporate those plans into the ratemaking process before the Public Regulation Commission.	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	No	Yes	Encourages utilities to consider advanced grid technologies in transmission planning processes.	✓
Montana	H.B.729	Enacted 2023	Enables the State’s Public Utilities Commission to approve cost-effectiveness criteria for advanced conductor projects that may be placed into a utility’s ROI Rate Base.				✓		No	Yes	Incentivizes Advanced Conductor use by allowing an ROI adder for utilities that use ACs to improve transmission or distribution lines efficiency.	✓
Minnesota	H.F.3704	Introduced 2024	Requires the utilities to evaluate and create plans to implement GETs to relieve congestion.	✓	✓	✓			Yes	Yes	Accelerates the implementation of GETs to save ratepayers money and improve grid reliability.		✓
Massachusetts	S.2967	Enacted 2024	Requires review of possible GET usage for any transmission and/or distribution project, allows for incentives, and requires a 5-year annual compliance filing for use of GETs. Requires the Department of Energy Resources and Department of Public Utilities to conduct an investigation examining the use of advanced transmission technologies to enhance the transmission system, including details of industry trends for the technologies, their cost-effectiveness, and if they are in the public interest.	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Yes	Yes	Allows the DPU to approve the deployment of Advanced Grid Solutions where they offer a more cost-effective solution and enables distribution companies to propose a performance incentive mechanism to incentivize the cost-effective deployment of these technologies. Requires a report on findings and recommendations.		✓
Maine	L.D.589	Enacted 2024	Mandates the Public Utilities Commission to conduct a periodic review of grid-enhancing technologies that could be adopted by large investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities to reduce or deter the need for investment in grid infrastructure.	✓	✓	✓	✓		Yes	No	Requires a review every five years of how advanced grid solutions could be deployed to benefit the state electricity system.	✓
Indiana	S.B. 422	Enacted 2025	Defines advanced transmission technologies, and requires utilities to include a description of the potential use or investment in advanced transmission technologies in any integrated resource plan (IRP) filed with the Indiana utility regulatory commission (IURC). Requires the IURC to conduct a study to evaluate the potential use of advanced transmission technologies by public utilities. Determines that advanced transmission technologies qualify as eligible transmission, distribution, and storage system improvements for purposes of allowing a public utility to recover eligible costs incurred in connection with investments made in such improvements.	✓	✓	✓	✓		Yes	Yes	Encourages utilities to safely, reliably, efficiently, and cost effectively meet electric system demand. Requires a report on findings and recommendations.		✓
Connecticut	H.B.5406	Introduced 2024	Establishes a task force comprised of state officials to study the transmission infrastructure in the state and potential use of advanced grid technologies, such as dynamic line rating, advanced power flow control, and topology optimization.	✓	✓	✓			Yes	No	Requires a report on findings and recommendations.		✓
Colorado	S.B.16	Enacted 2023	Requires the Colorado Electric Transmission Authority to study the need for expanded transmission through improvements to existing lines, such as implementing large capacity transmission lines or reconductoring lines.				✓		Yes	No	Requires a report on findings and recommendations. The Transmission Capacity Expansion Study for Colorado was completed in December 2024.	✓
California	S.B.1006	Enacted 2024	Requires the ISO to stay on track with transmission capacities by conducting a study on cost savings and efficiencies that could come from reconductoring and/or GETs and requires them to submit annual reports on progress/ challenges.	✓	✓	✓	✓		Yes	No	Establishes milestone goals for transmission infrastructure development to align the state’s grid with its energy ambitions.		✓

Additional Actions for Consideration

State Energy Offices may also consider the following list of actions to advance the policy discussions about advanced electric grid optimization solutions in their states:

Engage with transmission owners and operators to encourage the evaluation of historical and future congestion on the transmission system to identify where advanced electric grid optimization solutions may benefit the grid. Included in this discussion should be performance standards or congestion limits for transmission lines.
Pursue public outreach to broader audiences, exploring opportunities outside of working groups and public forums alone, with the support of or direction from the governor. For example, a representative of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which works closely with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, authored an article in Utility Dive, describing how procedures at each juncture of the transmission planning process could be changed to facilitate the consideration of advanced electric grid optimization solutions.
Consider utilizing modeling tools to identify where advanced electric grid optimization solutions may benefit the state power system. For example, in New York, the AGILe Project, sponsored by the New York Power Authority, is creating a digital twin of the state grid to understand the performance of systems and may help to identify advanced grid applications and test new sensor technologies.
Collect data to conduct a high-level, state-specific analysis of the benefits and barriers of deploying advanced electric grid optimization solutions, accounting for energy security, economic development, policy, legal, and regulatory considerations. Data collection is also necessary for establishing metrics aimed at identifying the effectiveness of technologies.
Consider undertaking an Advanced Electric Grid Optimization Solutions Roadmap, accounting for the opportunities of deploying such technologies, how to prioritize projects, and the barriers to implementation, such as cost-constraints or legal considerations. A state-specific roadmap undertaken by the State Energy Office could be funded using the state’s U.S. State Energy Program. Though crafted for microgrids, the Colorado Microgrid Roadmap offers an example of a roadmap that explores emerging technology in a state-specific context.
Coordinate with and inform state regulators about including advanced electric grid optimization solutions in utility plans, such as integrated resource plans, and align utility models with the needs of the state’s power grid, including the consideration of shared savings mechanisms and other regulatory tools.