The Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability has released an update to its 2012 Large Power Transformers and the U.S. Electric Grid report. The new report includes updated information about global electrical steel supply conditions and discusses the increased domestic production of large power transformers resulting from four new or expanded plants; the historical assessment of risks to power transformers by an insurance firm; and new government and industry efforts to augment risk management options for critical electricity infrastructure.
In this report, the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) assessed the procurement and supply environment of large power transformers (LPTs). LPTs have long been a concern for the U.S. electricity sector because the failure of a single unit can cause temporary service interruption and lead to collateral damage, and it could be difficult to quickly replace it.
Key industry sources have identified the limited availability of spare LPTs as a potential issue for critical infrastructure resilience in the United States, and both the public and private sectors have been undertaking a variety of efforts to address this concern. Therefore, DOE examined the following topics in this report: characteristics and procurement of LPTs, including key raw materials and transportation; historical trends and future demands; global and domestic LPT suppliers; potential issues in the global sourcing of LPTs; and assessment of the risks facing LPTs....
