Expertise Transmission Planning and Development

We plan the grid the system needs and help develop the projects that build it.

E3 works across the full transmission lifecycle, from identifying what the system needs to developing, permitting, financing, and building the projects that meet those needs.

Load growth, a changing resource mix, evolving policy, and an aging transmission system are leading the industry to expand and enhance the processes that shape how transmission is planned, permitted, and operated.

We help clients plan proactively rather than reactively, using methods that identify needs robust across a range of futures. We develop integrated generation and transmission planning frameworks that identify least-cost portfolios of bulk grid investments. We evaluate conventional transmission solutions alongside grid-enhancing technologies, advanced conductors, storage, and non-wires alternatives on a consistent cost-effectiveness basis so that solutions are right-sized to meet both near-term and long-term needs. We also support planning regions, transmission owners, and states with FERC Order 1920 compliance, including scenario design, benefit quantification across the required benefit categories, and the cost allocation methods that follow from them.

Identifying a system need and a solution to that need is only the first step in a successful transmission project. Challenges in development, engineering, financing, and construction still have to be addressed before a line gets built, and E3 supports developers and utilities through every phase, from project configuration to energization.

We help clients identify and prioritize the most promising transmission opportunities through site prioritization and market feasibility analysis, and we develop competitive transmission bids, from bid strategy, cost containment, and partnership structuring through full submission development and management, with multiple winning bids across North America. Our team models project risk and supports financing and acquisition transactions, and this work extends to the cost allocation and regulatory pathways that carry an approved project through to completion.

We advise on siting and permitting, including corridor and route evaluation, permitting strategy across state and federal processes, and support to agencies streamlining approval timelines. Across both competitive and incumbent projects, we advise on partnership strategy, helping utilities, developers, and investors structure joint ownership, financing, and operating arrangements and working inside development teams to turn planning objectives into repeatable implementation.

Because we work across policy, planning, markets, and finance, our advisory services reflect how technical needs, regulatory requirements, and project costs interact in practice.

How we support

Transmission planning and development

Transmission and integrated system planning

Proactive planning under long-term uncertainty, including scenario-based and probabilistic methods, and co-optimized generation and transmission portfolios that support FERC Order 1920 compliance

Project Benefits Analysis

Quantification of reliability, economic, resilience, and policy benefits for individual projects and portfolios, supporting regional planning, cost allocation, and state and federal filings

Advanced transmission technologies and non-wires alternatives

Cost-effectiveness evaluation of grid-enhancing technologies, advanced conductors, storage, and non-wires alternatives against conventional upgrades.

Transmission development and partnership strategy

Market feasibility, site prioritization, and joint ownership, financing, and operating strategies for partnerships

Competitive transmission strategy and bid development

Bid strategy, partnership structuring, cost containment and risk modeling, and full submission management for competitive solicitations

Siting, permitting, and project finance

Corridor and route evaluation, permitting strategy across state and federal processes, and financing and acquisition support for transmission assets

Cost allocation and regulatory pathways

Cost allocation frameworks and regulatory strategy that translate needs into buildable projects

Who we work with

Across transmission planning and development

Utilities

Transmission planning, integrated system planning, corporate and investment strategy, transmission partnerships, transmission development and delivery, competitive bid development, regulatory support

Regulators and state agencies

Planning frameworks, evaluation of advanced transmission technologies, cost allocation, and streamlining of siting and permitting

System operators and regional entities

Planning methods, benefits analysis, and cost allocation for ISOs, RTOs, and transmission owners

Developers and investors

Market sizing, bid development, market advisory for transactions, and partnership support

Selected clients & partners

E3