Report Highlights

Power Transmission Infrastructure in the U.S.: Market Overview

The U.S. power transmission infrastructure market covers high-voltage lines, substations, power transformers, switchgear, and HVDC converter stations. Its 2024 value of USD 27.4 billion reflects a network of more than 700,000 miles of lines operating at 100 kV and above. Capital is abundant because utilities earn regulated returns on rate base, so the binding constraint has been fragmented siting authority spread across 50 state regimes and multiple federal agencies.

Policy has determined the market's current form more than private investment. FERC Order No. 1000 of 2011 opened regional planning to competitive bidding, and the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 imposed statutory deadlines on NEPA reviews. Government has dominated planning and permitting, whereas investor-owned utilities and contractors such as Quanta Services and MYR Group have led physical execution, while Hitachi Energy and Siemens Energy supply transformers under long-cycle contracts.

Policy-Driven Growth in U.S. Power Transmission Infrastructure

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 allocated USD 65 billion to power infrastructure, including USD 2.5 billion to the Transmission Facilitation Program administered by the Department of Energy. That program signs capacity contracts with developers of interregional lines, such as the Southern Spirit project linking Texas and Mississippi. The mechanism converts merchant revenue risk into contracted revenue, which unlocks private debt and moves stalled projects toward construction.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 added USD 2 billion for Transmission Facility Financing under Section 50151, with loans issued through the DOE Loan Programs Office. FERC Order No. 1920, issued in May 2024, requires regional planners to model 20-year needs under multiple futures, with first compliance filings due June 2025. That mandate forces early identification of high-voltage projects, pulling demand for transformers and conductors forward by several years.

Regulatory Barriers and Compliance Costs

Federal environmental review is the most significant timing barrier. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 amended the National Environmental Policy Act to cap environmental impact statements at two years, yet Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service rights-of-way under Title V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act still require multi-year surveys. Build America, Buy America content rules, administered by the Office of Management and Budget, require 55 percent domestic content for manufactured components on federally funded projects, rising to 75 percent by 2029.

State certificate of public convenience and necessity proceedings, administered by commissions such as the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and the California Public Utilities Commission, add cost and delay through cost allocation disputes and landowner litigation. Section 232 steel tariffs, enforced by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, raised import duties to 50 percent in June 2025. That increase lifts conductor and tower costs on every domestic line.

Policy-Created Opportunities in U.S. Power Transmission

The Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program, funded at USD 10.5 billion under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, subsidizes utility upgrades including reconductoring with advanced conductors and grid-enhancing technologies. Reconductoring replaces existing lines with higher-capacity conductors on existing rights-of-way, avoiding new federal permitting. Suppliers such as Prysmian Group and Southwire can capture this demand across the Midwest and South Central states, where utility plans prioritize capacity upgrades.

DOE's National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor designations under Section 216 of the Federal Power Act create federal backstop siting in designated areas, opening long-distance HVDC routes for converter station and submarine cable suppliers. The Public Utility Commission of Texas approved a 765-kV Permian Basin backbone in 2025, creating demand for ultra-high-voltage transformers that few domestic plants currently produce. Hubbell and Eaton can supply switchgear and substation components for interface work tied to these plans.

Market at a Glance

Leading Market Participants

• Hitachi Energy
• Siemens Energy
• GE Vernova
• Prysmian Group
• Southwire
• Quanta Services
• MYR Group
• Hubbell
• Eaton
• Preformed Line Products

Regulatory and Policy Environment

The primary legislation is the Federal Power Act of 1935, particularly Section 216 on transmission siting and Section 206 on rate reviews, administered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC Order No. 1920 requires long-term regional transmission planning with 20-year horizons, with compliance filings beginning June 2025, while Order No. 1977 establishes backstop siting authority. NERC reliability standard TPL-008-1, addressing extreme heat and cold planning, enters phased implementation from 2026, adding study obligations for utilities.

Compared with regional peers, the U.S. framework is more fragmented. Canada's Impact Assessment Act and provincial Crown corporations such as Hydro-Québec centralize approvals at fewer decision points, while the European Union's TEN-E Regulation (EU) 2022/869 designates projects of common interest with defined permit-granting deadlines. The U.S. model instead layers federal backstop authority over 50 state siting regimes, which lengthens timelines but preserves market-based cost recovery.

Long-Term Policy Outlook for U.S. Power Transmission

By 2032, FERC Order No. 1920 interregional planning will produce binding multi-state cost allocation, and DOE's transmission corridors will move from designation toward permitting under federal backstop authority. Grid operators in PJM and MISO will file interregional transfer capability studies that set the sequencing of HVDC and 765-kV builds. Those filings will convert policy intent into dated construction schedules across the forecast horizon.

The market will shift from greenfield lines toward reconductoring, grid-enhancing technologies, and domestic transformer manufacturing as Build America, Buy America thresholds reach 75 percent in 2029. State commission rate-base approvals will matter more than federal grant money, and cost allocation rules will determine which utilities carry transmission capital. Suppliers that qualify for domestic content certification by 2028 will capture the largest share of federally co-funded projects.