Analyst Insight: Impact of State Level Regulations on Non-Wires Alternatives

Non-wires alternatives (NWA) offer targeted demand side management that reduces investment in the traditional grid infrastructure. To date, most regulatory support has been in the US. Worldwide, a larger push is needed, as is more cooperation among the key stakeholders: regulators, legislators, utilities, and customers. Best practices, clear mandates, and additional regulatory support can all help to increase worldwide implementation.

Developing a business case for NWA projects can be challenging, especially because accurately identifying bottlenecks in the grid is difficult—as is implementing a cost-effective solution. However, encouraging NWAs can lead to a cleaner, less congested grid that is flexible enough to increase with changes in load requirements. Supporting this must be a strong customer engagement program, which can be accomplished through demand side programs. Remote areas or densely populated regions where grid infrastructure is difficult to maintain can particularly benefit from NWA projects.

The Guidehouse Insights Non-Wires Alternatives Tracker Research Service provides a comprehensive and up-to-date database of global NWA projects. Information provided for tracked projects includes project name, utility, size, cost, included technologies, and status. An updated NWA database will be published in 2Q 2022. The current Analyst Insight focuses on the impact of state level regulations on NWA, particularly in the US.