Microsoft Research has released an open dataset providing approximate transmission topology of the U.S. power grid, constructed entirely from publicly available data such as OpenStreetMap and EIA statistics. This work addresses the difficulty researchers face when accessing critical infrastructure information by providing geographically grounded and electrically coherent models that support AC optimal power flow (AC-OPF) analysis. The pipeline allows for large-scale studies ranging from individual states to the entire Eastern Interconnection, enabling physics-based investigations into grid resilience and capacity without relying on proprietary datasets.
