transformers

Hitachi Energy, E.ON Ink $700M Deal to Strengthen German Grid. Hitachi Energy, the world’s largest transformer manufacturer, has signed a deal worth up to $700 million with German utility E.ON to supply

A transformer fire at Heathrow Airport earlier this year triggered cascading power outages, cutting electricity to more than 66,000 homes, grounding more than 1,300 flights, and causing losses of up to £100 million. According to a recent report, the fire started because of a fault in a 50-year-old asset that subsequently led to short circuiting […]

Power management company Eaton said it is helping address the critical shortage of transformers, along with record demand for its solutions from utility, large commercial, industrial and data center customers, with a $340 million investment to increase U.S. production of its three-phase transformers essential to reliable electrical power. Production and hiring at Eaton’s new Jonesville, […]

Transformers have been the backbone of power grids for over a century, but today’s demands for renewable energy, electric vehicles, and smarter grids are exposing their limits. Enter solid-state transformers—compact, efficient, and intelligent power solutions poised to revolutionize how electricity is distributed and managed. The push to modernize the grid is exposing critical shortcomings of […]

A transformer explosion at Eskom’s coal-fired 3.6-GW Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, on Dec. 12 injured nine employees, including one critically. The incident, caused by a ruptured high-pressure steam pipe, has underscored challenges faced by Eskom’s generating fleet, even as the state-owned maintains its suspension of load-shedding. The incident, reported at 5 p.m. […]

A marvel of modern engineering, Viking Link—the world’s longest onshore and subsea interconnector—began commercial operations in December 2023. The project garners POWER’s inaugural Transmission and

Facing unprecedented lead times and skyrocketing costs, the transformer supply chain crisis threatens the backbone of the electric power industry, driving urgent calls for increased manufacturing capacity and innovative solutions. Can the industry rise to the challenge? For several years now, the power sector has frantically raised the alarm about an impending transformer supply chain […]

Are the benefits of digital integrated power transformers worth it? Smart transformers with exciting new technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are among the next generation of energy equipment hitting the market today. Many organizations are considering switching to these cutting-edge transformers, but are unsure about the pros and cons. What […]

Power grids around the world require upgrades to accommodate growth and incorporate new clean energy resources. Transformers are a necessary component in the modernization. Estimates suggest hundreds of

Clean, green, renewable energy deployments continue to grow each year. A recent statement from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) noted, “By the end of 2022, global renewable generation

Nine trade groups—including four representing the power sector—have urged the Biden administration to prioritize actions that support the domestic production of electrical steel, warning that shortages are contributing to “significant and persistent” supply chain challenges. The groups, which include the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the American Public Power Association (APPA), the National Rural Electric Cooperative […]

FEB. 22, 2023 — The Expert solution is a leading-edge technology that collects all relevant data across devices to reduce cost, optimize operation, extend life expectancy, and enhance performance. It is launched today by Hitachi Energy, a global technology leader advancing a sustainable energy future for all. The next-generation TXpert Hub is a part of […]

Three major electric power trade groups in a letter on Feb. 15 urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to reconsider proposed energy efficiency conservation standards for distribution transformers, citing “severe and ongoing supply chain challenges that have prolonged and complicated distribution transformer production and availability.” The letter was sent ahead of a public meeting scheduled […]

A nearly two-day-long boil water order that shuttered schools and businesses and affected as many as 2.2 million customers in Houston—the nation’s fourth-largest city—was caused by a power outage stemming from the failure of two city-owned transformers. The incident began on Nov. 27 at 10:30 a.m. when “a ground trip and current overload” tripped the […]

The first step to solving a problem is recognizing that one is present. An operations team cannot adequately put a sufficient maintenance plan in place if there is no awareness that maintenance is required. One particular area that used to suffer much more regularly from this lack of diagnosis in a power plant setting is […]

Greenville, SC (March 21, 2022) – IPS, the North American leader in the service and repair of electric motors, generators, power transmission and mechanical components, has agreed to acquire ABB’s U.S. and Canadian hydro generator and transformer repair businesses. The sale includes ABB’s Beloeil, Quebec coil manufacturing facility and its Denver, Colorado service center. The […]

From generation to transmission and distribution, the power industry is changing. With distributed energy resources (DERs) increasingly participating in wholesale capacity, energy, and ancillary services

JUNE 4, 2021 — Hitachi ABB Power Grids today launched a portfolio of transformer products for offshore floating applications, designed to overcome the challenging offshore environment and withstand the physically demanding conditions on floating structures. The portfolio will enable much greater volumes of wind to be efficiently harvested and integrated into the global energy system, […]

September 21, 2020 — Hitachi ABB Power Grids is delighted to launch the TXpert Ecosystem for  digitalization of transformers. The ecosystem is designed to drive data-driven intelligence and decision making in the operations and maintenance of transformers and power grids. It is a complete suite of products, software, services and solutions that work together and […]

The power grid has never been more important. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the world’s progress toward a remote and mobile workforce, meaning society in general and certainly businesses are more dependent than ever on reliable, safe, and secure electricity. Doble Engineering has worked to secure the power grid for 100 years. The company, founded […]

Power sector supply chains, hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, are feeling the double whammy of uncertainty posed by a broad U.S. executive order. As was clear at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s

Taking its first major step to act on President Trump’s May 1 executive order (EO) to limit foreign bulk power equipment transactions in the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a definitive list of six foreign “adversaries” that pose threats to the U.S. bulk power system (BPS): China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, […]

Hitachi on July 1 commandeered a majority share of ABB’s lucrative Power Grids business and officially launched a joint venture company—Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The new company, which already has a volume of about $10 billion, is expected to provide financial muscle to support ambitious projects and new business opportunities as the sector embraces decentralization […]

A recent study from Global Market Insights, a global market research and management consulting company, shows the value of the global transformer market will exceed $90 billion by 2026. The company has a market report dedicated to the global transformers market. Ankit Gupta, a research manager at Global Market Insights, recently answered some questions from POWER […]

ABB has won an order worth around $30 million from Amprion GmbH, a German transmission grid operator that provides electricity to more than 29 million people, from the Alps in South of Germany to Lower Saxony, to supply phase-shifting transformers (PSTs) that will optimize power flow in the German electricity network and help in the […]

Through much of the developed world, we have come to rely on a steady flow of electricity just as we have a steady flow of air. Power outages are still disruptive, but they are few in number, and we have

More compact, lighter and environmentally-friendly transformers allows Con Edison to reduce transformer replacement time from months to days First transformer of its kind worldwide Transformers for quick replacement in response to extreme weather and unexpected events Siemens is providing Con Edison, the utility that powers New York City and local areas, with six mobile resilience […]

Wind turbine blades, gearboxes, and generators get most of the attention both within and beyond the power industry. The focus is often on increased capacity and blade lengths, as well as drive train premature failures. That’s natural, because those rotating blades are the most visible part of a wind project. However, successful operation of a […]