A coalition of electric utility, labor and other groups sent a letter to U.S. senators on March 5 asking them to support “compromise legislation” the groups say will help address a shortage of distribution system transformers while also improving the energy efficiency of the devices.
The U.S. Department of Energy proposed stricter efficiency standards for transformers in 2022, but utilities say they would worsen the existing shortage by requiring the use of amorphous steel cores, which are “extremely limited in supply,” and forcing manufacturers to “overhaul product designs and retool production processes.”
