Southern California Edison

Building the Grid around Long-Term Needs 

The starting point is to understand what the grid must do both now and decades from now. We need to assess asset condition and the consequences of failure alongside near-term customer connections, long-term load growth, and changing patterns of generation and power flow. We also need to strengthen resilience as climate conditions evolve, including exposure to extreme heat, wildfire, storms, and other hazards.

Land is increasingly scarce and costly, so making effective use of existing rights of way is another priority. Where technically feasible, we should evaluate how upgrades can deliver greater capacity and resilience within existing corridors and a smaller physical footprint. That requires looking at the whole system: conductors and structures, substation space, protection, and operational limits. The goal is to make each investment serve future needs while using land and infrastructure responsibly.

Planning the Grid through Risk and Reliability 

It begins with integrated grid planning. Transmission and distribution needs should be evaluated together, along with reliability, wildfire risk, capacity, and customer interconnections. That broader view helps us develop solutions that address immediate risks while supporting customers’ near, medium, and long-term needs.

The timing and scope of upgrades should also be riskinformed. We cannot address every aging asset at once, so we need to weigh the likelihood of an event, its potential consequences, and the effectiveness of available mitigations. In some cases, it is reasonable to manage and monitor a lowerprobability, lower-consequence risk while prioritizing work with a greater safety or reliability benefit. Those choices should be deliberate and revisited as conditions change.

Reliability must also be protected while upgrades are built. Outage availability, construction sequencing, temporary configurations, and contingency plans affect what can be delivered safely. Bringing planners, engineers, operators, and field teams together early helps turn a comprehensive grid solution into an executable one.

Using Digital Tools to Accelerate Grid Planning 

Their greatest value is helping engineers evaluate more possibilities sooner. With reliable system and asset data, planning tools can run multiple growth and grid scenarios, identify facilities likely to need upgrades, and estimate how much additional capacity those facilities may require. Engineers can then prioritize the scenarios and investments that warrant detailed study. This can shorten study timelines and accelerate the transmission planning process while keeping engineering judgment central to the final decisions.

The Goal Is To Make Each Investment Serve Future Needs While Using Land And Infrastructure Responsibly.

Digital tools can also reduce manual data entry and repetitive analysis. Better connected information helps teams see how a proposed transmission upgrade relates to substation, distribution, and customer needs, improving both the speed and quality of planning.

Designing Upgrades to Work Across the Grid

Start by identifying the interfaces early. New equipment must work with existing lines and substations, protection and control schemes, communications, operating practices, and other planned projects. An upgrade that performs well on its own still has to perform as part of the grid.

Field engagement is equally important. Drawings may not capture every condition at an existing facility or the practical constraints of working within it. Engineers, operators, construction, and maintenance teams need a shared understanding before major design decisions are locked in. Commissioning plans should then test how the complete system performs, including its response to abnormal conditions.

Building the Future Grid through Integrated Planning

I expect the greatest impact to come from combining advances in physical infrastructure with better information and more integrated planning. Highercapacity conductors and other grid-enhancing technologies may help us make better use of existing corridors where they are technically appropriate. Improved asset data, modern protection and control, and more connected engineering tools can help us identify needs earlier and execute solutions more effectively.

No single technology will solve every challenge. We also need engineers who can look across disciplines, recognize trends before they become urgent problems, and learn from field experience. The future of transmission depends on pairing innovation with sound engineering judgment, disciplined execution, and a culture of continuous improvement.