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<\/p>\nThere is an old Yiddish expression that translates literally as \u201cstop beating the teapot\u201d which we would freely translate as, \u201cWe\u2019ve heard this before, so why don\u2019t you just stop?\u201d Well, as new numbers come out and our great leaders keep coming up with new solutions to whatever they think ails the energy sector, we just can\u2019t resist.<\/p>\n
So here they are, the latest yearly average of miles of high-voltage transmission added to the grid since 2010:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Transmission lines of under 345KV are largely used for local distribution networks.<\/p>\n
Some transmission experts say the industry should add about 5000 miles per year to keep up with needs. The additions reached almost 4000 miles in 2013. In 2025, the industry added 402 miles. Before the sudden increase in demand on the system caused by the new AI load, the electric reliability organization and infrastructure engineers lamented the inadequacy of additions to the transmission grid, warning of the impact on grid reliability. Now a plethora of data center builders in a hurry want to add large power plants to the grid. As we have pointed out, building a power plant near or next to the data center does not obviate the need for more grid capacity, because electricity does not flow from point A (generator) to point B (data center). Instead to flows from A into the grid, sloshes around, seeks the path of least resistance, and B takes electricity generated anywhere that finds the path of least resistance to B. In other words, the grid operates more like a bathtub than a pipe.<\/p>\n
So, when you read that the data centers plan nearby power stations, or that the government plans to encourage dozens of new nukes, remember that they cannot operate without transmission line additions, or they will overload the network and make service less reliable. So discount all those plans unless the builders also enlarge the transmission network or they build generating capacity unconnected to the grid. We would expect more of the latter, considering the constipated nature of the existing transmission sector.<\/p>\n
Now, the problem of grid expansion (or lack thereof) has been around for more than two decades. The builders complain about the difficulty of siting, meeting requirements, and building.\u00a0 They have been complaining for decades, which means that the problems are insurmountable or we need a new, more determined set of builders to take on the issue. The regulators have tried to encourage action by offering unjustifiably high returns, and the market organizations by maintaining pricing systems that are supposed to send the market signals needed to entice market players to do something. Does the word \u201cclueless\u201d come to mind? Time to try something different?<\/p>\n
To sum up, we can\u2019t just plop down data centers and power plants all over and attach them to the network without also enlarging the grid. And we don\u2019t seem to be doing that enough. Why waste time on projects that won\u2019t see the time of day unless the wires are in place? Fix the grid or stop waiting and build off-grid. Is that simple enough for even the energy policy makers we have now?<\/p>\n
By Leonard Hyman and William Tilles for Oilprice.com<\/p>\n