could it be because they are made in ....... China ?
I’m not sure on the numbers ... but I know some of the biggest .... most critical ones are made in ....... China.
Could it really be so hard to get some thing we need from ............. China?
From the article:
“Thank President Biden’s green-energy policies, which are increasing demand for transformers and the specialized electrical steel to manufacturer them while creating enormous market uncertainty. The lack of transformers is exacerbating the country’s housing shortage and causing longer and more-frequent power outages.”
Also,
“Demand for transformers is growing worldwide as low-income countries develop their power grids and wealthier ones go green. The U.S. now finds itself in the difficult position of having to compete with other countries for transformers and electrical steel at the same time as the Inflation Reduction Act subsidies supercharge demand.
But forget about building out the grid. We can’t even maintain the one we have. An Energy Department report last year warned that most large power transformers will soon need to be replaced. The average age is 40 years, and normal life expectancy under ideal conditions is 20 years. Aging transformers “cause higher failure risk,” the report notes.”
Further:
“The Biden administration plans ensure that such problems can and will get worse. The Energy Department in January proposed efficiency standards for distribution transformers that would require an “amorphous steel” not readily available in the U.S. Climate activists lobbied for the new standards because they say more-efficient transformers will reduce power losses and the need for fossil-fuel generation.
That’s debatable. What isn’t is that the standards “would upend the market and manufacturing process” for electrical equipment, as automakers, utilities and home builders noted in a May 22 letter to Mr. Biden. As a result, “plans to expand domestic steel capacity and manufacturing of critical electrical equipment, such as transformers, are now in flux.””
Let’s review electrical transformers boys and girls..... They work hard all day and get HOT transforming electricity do to demand which equals the load on the transformer. A night time the transformer COOLS off with the lower demand (load). This is a design feature to help transformer last longer. Well here comes EV’s and their charging at night, ie more load, more HEAT! So the life span of a transformer is decreased meaning some one needs to build more transformers which have lots of copper which is getting expensive and scarce...... see a problem boys and girls?