Leading global vendors including ABB, GE/Alstom, S&C, Schneider Electric and Siemens will compete with each other as well as a number of local and regional players.

September 2, 2016

Electric utilities across the globe will invest around $3.2 trillion in the development of transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure. Growing electricity demand, aging assets and new power generation projects will further increase the necessity of this investment. Seeking to meet the high electricity demand whilst modernizing the grids, some of the major investments will take place in India and China.

Developed countries will also lead the way in distribution-level smart grid infrastructure (distribution automation) investment. In many developed countries distribution automation – including substation automation, fault detection, isolation and restoration schemes (FDIR), Volt/VAR optimization (VVO), and additional grid monitoring and control infrastructure – will reach 15-20 percent of total annual T&D investment. This will compensate for modestly lower legacy T&D investment as distributed generation and demand response programs gradually reduce the need for new power lines and substations.