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A Smarter Grid Costs Less: Messaging Around Affordability in the Transmission Space

After two decades of flat demand, U.S. electricity use is climbing fast— driven by data centers, advanced manufacturing, and electrification. This sharp increase in consumption has pushed affordability to top of mind for consumers.

This concern spans across party lines and demographics. A new poll from the Conservative Energy Network found that 82% of respondents were concerned about electricity affordability, and 72% said their electric bill has gone up over the last two years. Addressing this affordability issue requires smarter investments in transmission infrastructure. At ACORE’s Macro Grid Initiative, our mission is to expand and upgrade America’s transmission network so that communities across the country have access to reliable and affordable electricity.

Two ways to do this are building new high-voltage transmission and deploying advanced transmission technologies (ATTs). These are both complicated topics, so we developed an explainer using traffic analogies (see infographic for the ATT explainer), demonstrating how each solution supports affordability through credible research.

Clearly communicating grid solutions is important for buy-in. That same poll mentioned above discovered that 56% of respondents hadn’t heard of ATTs, but once they learned more, 77% viewed them as an important tool. Once the public understands the importance of a smarter grid and its impact on electricity prices, they are more likely to support it.

Abby Watson, Co-founder and President at The Groundwire Group, shared this new resource and discussed the importance of clear communication surrounding grid upgrades and affordability in a recent webinar. 

Colin Meehan, Vice President of Grid Campaigns at ACORE then moderated a panel of regional energy leaders: Nathan Raike, Manager of State and Local Affairs at RENEW Northeast; Dan Koehler, Principal Consultant and Vice President at Daymark Energy Advisors; Kevin Galligan, President of Galligan Energy Consulting; and Eliza Donogue, Executive Director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association to discuss how this is landing on the ground in New England.

The finding of our conversation? Messaging is key. Public confusion remains a barrier to transmission development, which makes messaging and communication essential for understanding how higher voltage transmission is economically beneficial.  

No matter the complexity of affordability and transforming energy grids, Eliza’s point reinforced a valuable lesson: the messenger is as important as the message. “The most effective messengers are those who are most locally impacted. Those who are family members and neighbors tend to be a trusted source.” 

Check out our Macro Grid Initiative to keep up with the work we are doing to expand and upgrade the U.S. power grid to enable economic growth and save American consumers money.

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