AC Transmission Lines Active in the United States (Map)

We live in an amazing time when it comes to digital technologies. Things that were considered science fiction a few years ago are now scientific fact. What brought this to mind is this downloadable high-res map of the AC transmission system in the United States. It’s been developed by the collaboration of Endeavor Business Intelligence and MAPSearch. As I reviewed it, it took me back to my days as a consulting engineer and before that I worked for a utility company. As a utility engineer, one of my duties was being a member of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station’s transmission engineering and operating committee.

That made me very familiar with the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s (WSCC) transmission system, which proved invaluable to me as a consulting engineer. With that experience got me more than one project from renewable energy companies wanting to connect in the WECC’s territory. If I had had a hi-res map like this one, it would have helped tremendously by making me more efficient for my clients. Heck, it would have really improved my output as the principal engineer of stations at my utility too. It shows the U.S. transmission network in its entirety along with interconnections, voltage levels, and a lot of other information.

Looking at areas I’m familiar with, it gives me an advantage over someone not using it. I can locate existing infrastructure, improve the site selection process, identify environmentally sensitive areas, and many other points. I can expand the map’s scale to better identify interconnection points, and a lot of other data points that are important to clients and bosses – you get the idea. Before this gets too long I’m going to say register for the map and download it, then get busy playing with it.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I am. It’s a great user-friendly tool and an easy way to explore a new application that’s now available!
—Gene Wolf, Technical Editor