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11/12/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/12/2026 13:28

Why Isn’t the U.S. Building the Power Lines It Needs

Published Date

November 12, 2026

Article Content

The U.S. needs more power. And more ways to move it. Demand for electricity is surging, driven by the electrification of transportation and industry and the rise of data centers.

The White House has declared a national emergency to secure the country's bulk-power system against foreign threats, but there's another fundamental problem not being addressed. The U.S. isn't building enough transmission.

The gap is stark: The continental U.S. has been adding only about 500 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines a year. Studies suggest that through 2050, roughly 5,000 miles a year may be needed.

David Victor, a distinguished professor in the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative, studies energy and climate policy. In a new Science Policy Forum, "Fixing the power transmission crisis," Victor and coauthors examine why that gap is so large - and what it will take to close it. So we asked him:

Why isn't the U.S. building the power lines it needs?

Victor: The short answer is that there is no national strategy. The high-voltage transmission system is essentially the interstate highway system of the electric grid, moving power over long distances and between regions. But decisions about what gets built are dispersed among utilities and regional grid operators, as well as state and federal governments.

As it stands, we have a system with lots of veto points and weak incentives to build the projects that deliver the greatest value across regions. Utilities are generally rewarded for investments inside their own service territories. Once a line crosses utility or state boundaries, more players get involved, approvals become more complicated and fights break out over who pays and who benefits.

Technology can help smooth some of the politics. We can upgrade existing transmission lines to carry more power, and newer high-voltage direct-current technologies make it possible to bury lines over long distances. That creates opportunities to use existing rights-of-way along highways and railroads, where infrastructure is already in place and opposition may be lower. In that sense, technology can make the politics of building transmission easier.

But technology alone won't create a national strategy. One of the proposals we make is for a Presidential-Congressional Transmission Commission to help develop one - not a single federal master plan for the grid, but a framework for aligning federal and state rules, reducing barriers and creating stronger incentives for high-value projects to actually get built.

Learn more in the full Science Policy Forum by Victor and Carnegie Mellon University coauthors Madeline Yozwiak and M. Granger Morgan, "Fixing the power transmission crisis."

Technology can help smooth some of the politics. ... But technology alone won't create a national strategy. - David Victor
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