“Alongside drinkable water, clean air, and paved roads, Americans expect reliable electricity.”  

That quote from Heatmap News says it all. Yet while much of the energy security conversation centers around big-ticket investments — new generation, transmission corridors and national electrification goals — we’re overlooking the grid’s most fragile and vital tier: the distribution system.  

If we truly aim for a resilient, secure energy future, we need an “all of the above” approach that includes generation, transmission and distribution. 

The Missing Middle — Distribution Grids 

The U.S. distribution grid — the local poles, wires and transformers feeding homes and businesses — was never designed for today’s demands. AI data centers, while often expected to connect into the high-voltage transmission system or localized generation, can still require private distribution networks. Electrification of transportation, heating and industrial sectors is driving rapid load growth. And even more critically, the technologies transforming everyday life — EV chargers, heat pumps, rooftop solar and home batteries — are sited directly at the grid edge, pressing harder on the distribution system than ever before.  

Focusing solely on new power plants and long-haul transmission lines is like building new highways without fixing the neighborhood roads that connect to them. Without a strong distribution system, the “last mile” of electrification is at risk.  

Today’s distribution challenges include:  

• Outdated Visibility: Many utilities operate the LV (Low Voltage) system “blind,” relying on assumptions or algorithms rather than real data. 
• Thermal Constraints: Transformers and lines are pushed beyond their design limits by EV chargers, heat pumps and increasing baseline loads.  
• Grid Modernization Bottlenecks: New projects are delayed, not because of missing generation, but because local distribution networks can’t accommodate them.   
• DER (Distributed Energy Resources) Stranding: Similarly, new solar and batteries can’t connect due to local hosting capacity limits.  

Investments into the distribution layer are no longer optional — they are foundational to future energy security.  

Real-World First Steps: From Blind Spots to Visibility

So, where do we start? Modernizing the grid means getting granular — investing in real-time, actionable visibility at the edge.  

This is where low voltage network monitoring comes in. Technologies such as the EdgeSensor remotely monitor voltage, current, power factor, harmonics, outages and transformer loading — directly at the distribution level where stress is mounting.  

Deploying real-time distribution monitoring enables utilities to:  

• Catch issues before outages occur (e.g., overheating transformers, phase imbalance).  
• Optimize transformer utilization and extend asset life.  
• Support DER integration by understanding real-time power flows.  
• Accelerate electrification programs without overspending on unnecessary infrastructure.  

Early adopters like Vermont Electric Coop (VEC) are seeing tangible, immediate results — detecting failing transformers, avoiding customer outages and reducing operational costs.  

Energy Security Starts Local

Building new megawatts of clean energy is essential. So is hardening transmission against extreme weather and cyber threats. But the energy transition will falter if the local grid — the distribution system — can’t deliver.  

Energy security is not just about adding supply. It’s about ensuring delivery to the end customer. That demands visibility, agility and resilience where energy is consumed.  

A true “all of the above” energy strategy must invest just as heavily in modernizing the distribution system. And, real-time grid edge visibility isn’t the final solution; it’s an essential first step toward a more secure, more resilient energy future.  

Reliable electricity isn’t a luxury. It’s a basic expectation — and it starts at the edge.