Federal law and implementing regulations are causing the most significant change in the U.S. electric power industry since the Great Depression. For more than 60 years the industry was characterized by a structure - utilities serving exclusive franchises - and a regulatory strategy - pricing at average prudent cost of service - that are now changing in fundamental ways.

Recently the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), FERC, and the U.S. Congress have questioned whether the high-voltage transmission system is capable of supporting its growing economic role. In May 2001, the National Energy Policy Development (NEPD) Group, referring to the transmission system as the “highway system for interstate commerce in electricity,” recommended that reliability standards be made mandatory, in part because of the increasingly competitive nature of the electricity market.

The transition of the U.S. electric power industry from a regulated monopoly to a deregulated industry where generators of electricity compete for customers is in full swing. Consequently, many aspects of the industry are changing, including its infrastructure.

Aruvian Research’s report on the US Transmission Industry looks at this industry in transition. The report provides an overview of electric power transmission, industry statistics of the US transmission industry, the investment scenario in the industry, and of course, the emergence and impact of renewable energies on the US transmission industry along with case studies.