Edison International: The Grid Must Grow Now
Edison International: The Grid Must Grow Now
For more on Countdown to 2045, visit The Race is On for a Clean Energy Future.
Imagine 20,000 miles of new high-capacity electric transmission lines, enough to wrap around 80% of the Earth, just in California.
Or scores of heavy-duty electric truck charging stations, each capable of providing enough electricity for a modern NFL stadium or a small town, spread throughout the state.
Add in massive battery storage facilities with a combined capacity to power 15 million homes.
That’s only some of the estimated $370 billion in new grid infrastructure California needs to build over the next two decades to meet the state’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
Edison International’s Countdown to 2045 analysis estimates that 90% of vehicles and 95% of buildings will need to be powered by electricity. As a result, new transmission and distribution projects must be completed at up to four times and 10 times their historical rates, respectively.

“Customers thinking about buying an electric vehicle today wonder if they’re going to be able to plug in and have reliable power,” said Steve Powell, Southern California Edison president and CEO. “My answer is yes, you can buy an EV today, and we have the power needed to charge. But we have a lot of work to do for the grid to be ready for future growth.”
Preparing for that future grid is the full-time job of Devin Rauss, SCE’s principal manager of Grid Strategy and Policy.
“The demand will be like nothing we have ever seen before,” Rauss said. “The electric system really has to grow to ensure that customers have the electric infrastructure that can provide them with the scale of energy they will need in the future.”
The sources of that future energy will change dramatically, with three times more power coming from utility-scale clean electricity. Generation from wind, solar and geothermal will be located away from population centers, so new transmission lines, substations and even undersea cables will need to be built.

As consumer behavior evolves, the grid will need to adapt. For example, building electrification will lead to unprecedented spikes in grid demand on winter mornings as people heat their homes with electricity instead of gas. The mobility and flexibility required of transportation electrification present a different set of challenges.
“No one wakes up in the summer and says, ‘I’m going to set my thermostat to 60 degrees today so my home electricity consumption will double.’ But in the future, people who decide to go on an extended road trip will need to double the energy for their vehicle. This gets even more dynamic as they may choose to get that energy away from home,” Rauss said.
Countdown to 2045 also calls for streamlining the existing permitting process for new transmission projects. It’s often redundant and inefficient and can delay project completion by two to four years.
“Customers want immediate access to clean technologies, like EVs and heat pumps. To ensure timely delivery and accessibility, we need to build faster,” said Larry Chung, SCE vice president of Local Public Affairs. “Working with local and tribal governments on customer needs and collaborating on state policy and local permitting will allow SCE to increase our building capabilities for a more reliable grid.”

“Everyone in the state will have to play their part,” Rauss said. “There is likely to be opposition. But we do know to achieve carbon neutrality, change is coming.”
With these changes, the average residential customer’s electric bill will rise. However, their combined spending on electricity, gasoline and natural gas will decline by about 40% by 2045. This is due to savings from reduced fossil fuel consumption and the greater efficiency of EVs and appliances. The average household is expected to start seeing savings within 10 years.
For more on SCE’s clean energy efforts, visit edison.com/cleanenergy.