Key takeaways
- Xcel Energy's new base capital plan for 2027–2031 is $70 billion, including $18.6 billion for electric transmission and $13.7 billion for distribution.
- WEC Energy Group added $10 billion to its five-year plan, for a total of $47.5 billion, with most of the increase in generation.
- These plans break spending out by category, so you can match what you sell to a specific line item long before it becomes an RFP.
- The first conversation belongs with the program owner, and it should be about their plan, not your product.
What the utilities just announced
On October 29, Xcel Energy released its third-quarter results along with a base capital plan of $70 billion for 2027 through 2031. The earnings release breaks the plan out by function: about $21.4 billion for renewables, $18.6 billion for electric transmission, $13.7 billion for electric distribution, $9.2 billion for other electric generation, $3.7 billion for natural gas and $3.5 billion for everything else. The release also says the plan leaves out investments to serve future large-load customers, so the total could grow.
WEC Energy Group, which owns utilities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota, released its results the same day. Its earnings presentation describes a $10 billion increase to its five-year plan, bringing 2027–2031 to $47.5 billion. About $8.4 billion of the increase is in generation, with another $1.2 billion in transmission and $500 million each in electric and gas distribution. The company linked much of its growth to demand from very large customers such as data centers.
These two aren't outliers. In an April analysis, S&P Global Market Intelligence put the forecast for U.S. utility capital spending near $1.3 trillion for 2026–2030.
Why a capital plan is a shopping list
A capital plan isn't a purchase order. But it's one of the earliest public signals of what a utility intends to buy, and how much it intends to spend.
Each category in the plan is made up of programs: substation upgrades, line rebuilds, grid modernization, new generation, gas main replacement and so on. Each program has an owner, a schedule and a budget. By the time a piece of that work shows up as an RFP, the scope and specifications are usually settled, and the utility often already knows which vendors it expects to hear from.
Vendors who arrive at the RFP stage mostly compete on price. Vendors who talked with the program owner a year earlier had a chance to help shape what was asked for.
Investor-owned utilities also have to justify major investments to state regulators, so many of the details show up in public rate case filings and integrated resource plans. Our rate case and IRP tracker is a good place to see which filings are active.
Match your offering to the line items
- Pick the categories that fit. Transmission spending covers lines, substations, protection and control, engineering and right-of-way work. Distribution covers poles, transformers, metering, sensors and software. Generation and gas each have their own supply chains. Be honest about where you fit and where you don't.
- Read the source documents. Start with the earnings release and investor presentation, then look at the annual report and any open rate case. These often explain what a category actually includes, such as how much of a distribution budget goes to grid modernization or reliability work.
- Rank your targets. Compare utilities in your territory by how much is planned in your category and how fast it's growing. A short list of well-matched utilities beats a long list of maybes.
- Don't forget public power and cooperatives. They don't hold earnings calls, but many publish budgets, capital improvement plans and board materials. Our lists of the largest public power utilities and largest electric cooperatives are a good starting point.
Reach the program owners before the RFP
The people who matter at this stage usually aren't in purchasing yet. Look for titles like director of transmission planning, distribution engineering manager, grid modernization program manager or asset management lead. Supply chain still matters, because many utilities require vendors to be prequalified or registered before they can bid. Our guide to how utilities buy covers that side.
When you reach out, lead with their plan, not your product. A simple opening works: "I saw the transmission figure in your new five-year plan. Is substation automation part of that work, or is it handled another way?" It shows you did your homework, it's easy to answer, and it gives them room to say no. If the answer is no, thank them and move on. There's no need to invent urgency. The plan already sets the timeline.
When the answer is yes, ask about timing, how the work will be packaged and who else is involved. Those answers tell you whether to follow up next month or next year.
How KSG helps
Kensington Sales Group's SDRs work utility markets every day, finding the program owners behind capital plans and booking meetings for your sales team. For Siemens, we contacted more than 2,500 utilities and set up 70 meetings (read the case study). See how we work in the utilities market.
Sources: Xcel Energy third-quarter 2026 earnings release (SEC Form 8-K); WEC Energy Group Q3 2026 earnings package; WEC Energy Group third-quarter 2026 earnings release (SEC Form 8-K); S&P Global Market Intelligence, US utility capex forecast for 2026–30.