The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Bentley’s Power Line Systems (PLS) provides engineering software for designing and analyzing overhead transmission lines. It could help engineers work through the designs needed to upgrade or expand the grid, but it cannot produce electricity, approve projects, resolve siting disputes, or build transmission lines. The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2026 draft National Transmission Needs Study independently identifies a need for additional transmission as electricity demand grows.
Why the U.S. grid needs more transmission
DOE’s July 2026 announcement describes accelerating electricity demand from data centers, manufacturing growth, and emerging industry. Its draft National Transmission Needs Study also identifies needs tied to economic growth, new generation and load interconnections, and congestion relief. The study overview says DOE assessed public information and more than 120 reports.
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The study is a planning resource, not a blueprint selecting particular projects or replacing existing planning processes. It identifies additional transmission needs that can inform planning and investment; utilities, grid operators, regulators, communities, and project developers still determine what gets built and where.
Congestion is concentrated in particular conditions
DOE reports that most transmission congestion is concentrated in 5% of hours, especially during conditions such as high net load, cold weather, intermittent generation, and large day-ahead to real-time price differences. That finding points to a targeted planning problem, not simply a need to add capacity everywhere. DOE’s overview discusses potential value from selected regional and interregional links, but the reviewed material does not provide comparative cost or performance figures for those options.
What Power Line Systems software does
Bentley describes PLS as a developer of engineering tools for overhead transmission structures and lines. The company says its tools can also bring transmission-grade capabilities to overhead distribution and communications-grid work. Engineers use this kind of software to design and analyze line structures and routes; that is a different task from deciding whether a project should proceed or securing the resources to construct it.
PLS was founded in 1984 by University of Wisconsin professor Alain Peyrot. Bentley announced an agreement to acquire it in 2021, and Bentley’s 2025 article dates the completed acquisition to 2022. Bentley says PLS software is used in the design of nearly every new transmission line worldwide. In a separate 2026 article, Bentley estimates that PLS is used to design 95% of new transmission lines worldwide. Those are Bentley’s adoption claims, not independently verified market-share measurements.
Where PLS could help—and where it cannot
Engineering work that software can support
By supporting line design and analysis, PLS can help engineers develop and assess technical designs for transmission projects. Such work is one part of the process of upgrading existing lines or planning new ones. Bentley CEO Nicholas Cumins has described the software as instrumental in bridging the power gap; that is Bentley’s characterization of its role, not evidence that the software itself closes a supply shortfall.
Bentley’s Otto Lynch has said a line can be designed in a day using PLS, while permitting can take 10 years. These are statements by a Bentley executive, not an independent benchmark or a guaranteed timeline for a project. They illustrate the distinction between engineering work and the much longer set of decisions and approvals that may follow.
Rank #3
Steps beyond the software
- Planning: utilities and grid operators identify needs and evaluate possible upgrades or new connections.
- Approval and siting: project proponents must navigate applicable regulatory processes and land-use concerns.
- Investment and construction: organizations must fund and physically build the selected infrastructure.
- Operation: the completed line must be integrated into the grid and managed as part of the wider system.
Engineering software can contribute to the design stage, but it does not substitute for any of these other steps.
How to interpret Bentley’s grid figures
Bentley’s 2026 article estimates that 35 GW of additional U.S. power-network capacity will be needed by 2030 to power AI data centers alone. DOE’s reviewed draft material establishes a broader need for additional transmission associated with several demand and grid factors; it does not verify Bentley’s specific 35 GW estimate. The figures should not be treated as interchangeable: one is a Bentley estimate focused on AI data centers, while DOE’s study addresses transmission needs more broadly.
Bentley’s 2025 article also reports a D+ grade for the U.S. energy grid, attributing it to ASCE’s 2025 Infrastructure Report Card, and estimates that 75% of legacy grid components are more than 60 years old. These figures are Bentley’s reporting; they are not independently established by the DOE study material described here.
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PLS is specialized professional engineering software, not consumer equipment and not a direct fix for electricity shortages. Its potential contribution is indirect: tools for analyzing and designing lines may help engineers do work needed for grid upgrades and expansion. Whether that work becomes added capacity depends on planning, approvals, financing, construction, and integration into the grid.
Best Value
For the broader U.S. demand question, DOE’s draft study supports the conclusion that additional transmission is a recognized planning need, including in response to data centers and other growing loads. It does not endorse PLS specifically or show that one software product can resolve the national challenge.
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