Distributed Energy Could Save U.S. $614 Billion
A Brattle Group report for The Pew Charitable Trusts quantifies the power-system savings from removing barriers to distributed energy resources.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Utilities
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A report released November 5, 2026 by The Brattle Group for The Pew Charitable Trusts finds that removing policy and regulatory barriers to distributed energy resources (DERs) could avoid $614 billion in U.S. power system costs through 2050. The research examines avoided costs and emissions reductions from enabling more DERs among residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
Why it matters
The report ties grid planning to household bills, arguing that easing DER deployment could roughly halve the projected inflation-adjusted rise in average electricity bills by 2035. For U.S. consumers, the findings frame distributed resources as a lever on affordability as electricity demand grows.
The modeled scenario projects $33 billion, or roughly 40%, less grid overinvestment cost between 2030 and 2040 and a 3% cut in cumulative power-sector CO2 emissions through 2050. The projections are model outputs, and the report does not detail the assumptions behind the regional adoption rates.
The players
The Brattle Group
The Brattle Group is an economic consulting firm that conducts energy and utility research and authored the report's modeling.
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts is a nonprofit public-interest research and policy organization that commissioned the report and authored the DER policy playbook.
The details
The study focuses on three recommendations from Pew's DER policy playbook: reforming local permitting processes, streamlining interconnection and grid access, and integrating DERs into distribution planning. Together, these measures could deliver 43% of the economic benefits of expanding DER deployment.
Timeline
November 5, 2026: The Brattle Group report is released for The Pew Charitable Trusts.
2030 to 2040: Potential grid overinvestment costs fall by $33 billion under reduced DER barriers.
2035: Projected rise in average household electricity bills is roughly halved.
2050: Target year for the $614 billion in avoided system costs and 3% emissions reduction.
Roadmap
The findings extend a long-running policy debate over whether utilities should build more centralized grid capacity or rely more on customer-sited resources to meet growing demand. The Brattle modeling positions distributed resources as a way to reduce the risk of grid overbuilding while lowering the need for new natural gas plants.
For households, the modeling suggests that enabling more distributed resources such as rooftop solar and storage could moderate the expected climb in electricity bills through the mid-2030s. The benefits depend on regulators adopting the permitting, interconnection, and planning reforms the report recommends.
The takeaway
Reducing barriers to distributed energy is presented as a low-cost way to hold down future power bills and emissions. Consumers and local officials can watch how their own utilities handle permitting and interconnection rules, since those decisions shape how much of this potential is realized.
Further reading
Explore more coverage of Utilities to see how grid planning decisions affect the broader U.S. power sector.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Pew.
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