First, for a top-down view of T&D, total Distribution Plant in Service grew 5%, from $380 billion to $400 billion. The reporting involved 140 of the largest electric utilities in the U.S. Similarly, total Transmission Plant in Service grew 9%, from $182 billion to $202 billion, at 168 utilities.
When we talk about the investments required to fully integrate grid-edge renewables, it is important to recognize related “realities of scale.” Specifically, when we hear various multi-year, multi-billion market size predictions for technologies such as Thermostat-based Demand Responses solutions, or Advanced Battery Storage, it is important to see that the 2015 additions of new T&D plant in the U.S. totaled $40 billion, just at the large IOUs making up 70 to 80% of these investments. And another key part of that context involves each utilities’ obligations on behalf of their customers to get the most out of the existing 90 to 99% of their T&D assets they do NOT have to replace every year.
A Metering-related Snapshot
The current dollar value for all of the installed electric meters at the 137 utilities reporting distribution system assets to FERC was $16.8 billion at year-end 2015, up 10% from the prior year’s total of $16.6 billion. Putting aside some accounting adjustments in the figures, the dollar value of retired meters was 5.3% of the year’s starting figure, and additions of new meters was 8.1%. This means that reports about AMI related growth in the future should be tempered by asking what portion of meters failed and were going to be replaced anyway, and what portion of new additions of meters were due to growth in the utility’s customer base.
Looking at distribution system storage battery equipment, it is of interest that this is still a young and growing asset area, with only 13 utilities reporting any assets in this category, and with the top two utilities (SDG&E and PG&E) making up 72% of the entire market to date:
