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The Trump administration is considering revising energy efficiency requirements for distribution transformers that were approved two years ago to wide industry acclaim, generating fresh concerns among utilities and other electric sector stakeholders about grid expansion bottlenecks.
The new rules, set to go into effect in 2029, adjust transformer efficiency targets to require the use of more amorphous electrical steel in the critical grid equipment, along with the grain-oriented electrical steel, or GOES, that’s most common now.
DOE’s 2024 rule change ultimately took a middle-ground approach, allowing the use of both GOES and amorphous steel to ensure manufacturers can meet the growing need for grid equipment. When the rule was finalized, timelines to acquire new distribution transformers were running 18 months or longer, and the fear was that a rapid restructuring of manufacturing and steel supply chains would worsen the situation.
Stakeholders at the time praised the rule for balancing efficiency gains with market realities.
