Planning the Grid We’ll Actually Operate

At this year’s DTECH (February 2–5), I had the opportunity to moderate a panel of five experts on the topic of “Planning to Action: Aligning Utility Operations to Unlock the Power of Non-Wires Solutions and Flexibility.” The conversation reflected something many utilities are experiencing right now: the traditional boundaries between distribution planning and grid operations are dissolving.

A Model Under Strain 

For decades, utilities have relied on long planning horizons and infrastructure investments to keep the grid reliable. Planning teams forecast demand years in advance, engineers design the infrastructure to meet that demand, and operators manage the system in real time once the assets are built. But the system we are operating today is fundamentally different from the one those processes were designed for. Three external forces are driving this change:

Rapid load growth from electrification and large loads  

Electric demand is rising as vehicles, buildings, and industrial systems shift from fossil fuels to electricity. Large loads such as data centers are also adding significant demand, often in specific locations and on short timelines. 

The proliferation of distributed energy resources  

Distributed energy resources (DERs) such as rooftop solar, electric vehicle (EV) chargers, and batteries are increasingly present across distribution systems. These resources change load shapes and can even reverse power flows on local circuits.  

Increasing pressure to deliver power faster  

Customers and communities want new power service quickly to support growth and new projects. But building substations, lines, and other infrastructure takes years to plan and construct.

Together, these forces are pushing utilities to rethink not just how we plan the grid—but how planning and operations work together. This means planning not just for the infrastructure we will build, but for the grid that will ultimately be operated. 

Shop Talk: The End of “Wiggle Room” 

Historically, planners and operators have relied on what many engineers casually call “wiggle room.” That wiggle room took many forms: spare capacity in lines and substations, operational flexibility in the system, and the ability for operators to shift load, reconfigure circuits, or rely on margins built into planning assumptions. But that margin is shrinking.

As one panelist explained: It may take seven years to build a new substation, yet a new development or data center may require service within three years. That mismatch is forcing utilities to look for new ways to unlock capacity from the grid we already have.

This is where flexibility—and non-wires solutions—becomes essential. 

Unlocking Capacity from the Grid We Already Have 

Non-wires solutions (NWS) are often discussed as alternatives to traditional infrastructure. NWS is a broad term for any approach that avoids or defers building new wires infrastructure (lines, feeders, substations, transformers). But the panel emphasized a broader view. Flexibility can come from many sources:

Utilities have always used operational solutions such as load transfers and reconfiguration to solve constraints. What is new is the scale and importance of these tools in managing the future grid.

In many cases, flexibility is not just a cost-saving option—it is becoming a necessity. When customers need power before infrastructure can be built, flexibility can bridge the gap. In some cases, it may defer infrastructure investments; in others it can permanently avoid them.

But flexibility solutions introduce something new into planning: they depend on active system operation.

When Planning Becomes Operational 

Traditional infrastructure solutions are relatively simple to operate once they are built. A new substation or feeder can often be “set and forget.” Whereas flexibility solutions are different. 

DERs, demand response programs, and storage resources require ongoing coordination, dispatch, and monitoring. Their effectiveness depends on how they are operated day-to-day. This creates a fundamental shift in how utilities must think about planning. 

Planning is no longer just about identifying where to build infrastructure. Increasingly, it must also determine how the grid will be operated in the future.

As one panelist put it: “The goal of planning is to set up the future grid so that it can be operated.” 

That means planning teams must increasingly consider operational scenarios, such as: 

• Transmission planning studies to evaluate load growth, resource integration, and system expansion needs. This includes reviewing competitive window and new transmission impacts/benefits studies, ISO/RTO and TSP interconnection studies, and long-term planning studies. The objective is to develop actionable strategies that balance cost, reliability, and sustainability for current and future demands.

—while operators must provide feedback on what solutions are practical in real-world operations, such as:

• System operations studies provide real-time analysis and scenario testing to address operational challenges and optimize performance. This includes operating limit development, system operability assessments, and forensic/grid event analysis. The objective is to enhance system reliability and respond effectively to changing conditions. 

In other words, planning and operations can no longer function as separate disciplines.

From Silos to Integrated Planning and Operations 

Many utilities historically separated planning and operations into different teams, tools, and processes. That separation worked when infrastructure solutions dominated and system conditions changed slowly. But flexibility changes that dynamic. 

DERs, storage, and flexible loads blur the boundary between planning and operations. Their value depends on both planning assumptions and operational performance.

Several panelists emphasized that utilities are beginning to address this through: 

• Better feedback loops between planning and operations teams 
• Improved modeling and scenario analysis 
• Increased system visibility through sensors, telemetry, and digital models 
• Platforms that integrate operational and planning data

Technology will play an important role—particularly tools that improve system visibility, integrate planning and operational data, and enable more advanced modeling of DERs and flexible resources. This includes better digital models of the distribution system, improved telemetry from field devices, and platforms that allow planners and operators to work from a shared view of system conditions.

Many utilities are beginning to support this integration with improved digital models of their networks, advanced planning studies that incorporate operational constraints, and tools that allow planners and operators to evaluate scenarios using consistent data. 

But the panel repeatedly emphasized that technology alone is not enough. Process and organizational alignment must come first. 

Utilities can strengthen coordination by creating processes and culture that enable  planning and operations teams to work more closely together. In practice, this may include joint planning and operations reviews, shared modeling tools, and structured feedback loops where operators can validate whether proposed solutions are practical under real-world operating conditions.  

As flexibility solutions become more common, planning decisions increasingly depend on how the system can be operated in practice.

The Grid of the Future Is an Optimized Grid

One panelist shared a memorable observation from a recent discussion with Bill Gates: “We won’t achieve our energy goals without grids.”

But the panel added an important clarification: We won’t achieve those goals without optimized grids—not just grids. 

Building infrastructure will always be necessary. But the scale and speed of the energy transition mean we must also make better use of the assets already in place. That requires:

• Greater operational flexibility 
• Integrated planning and operations 
• New approaches to modeling, forecasting, and grid visibility

The utilities that succeed in this transition will be those that can move beyond traditional silos and embrace a more dynamic view of how the grid is planned and operated. 

The future grid will not just be bigger. It will be smarter, more flexible—and far more integrated than the systems we have relied on for the past century. Planning for that grid means thinking not only about what we build, but about how the system will actually be operated.