The clever tech boosting US electricity grid capacity

Better use of existing cables could accelerate electrification projects

Photo by Switched Source.

In Florida, Texas, New York, Iowa and other US states, a new kind of technology is opening up capacity on local electricity grids. It might not look like much – a large green box installed on the ground near some power lines – but it is doing something both simple and clever.

Distribution circuits in the US typically use three separate cables to deliver three-phase power to communities. But that’s the backbone. For residential properties, just one of those lines gets connected to people’s homes. It means that, often, there is under-utilised capacity on the other two wires. Room for plenty more electrons, just waiting.