SAN ANTONIO – Supply chain disruptions that began during the pandemic are still causing shortages of a piece of equipment needed to power homes: transformers.
Transformers, those dark green metal boxes visibile on neighbhood lawns, transform higher voltages flowing through underground power lines into lower voltages for use in homes. For about every four houses being built in a new subdivision, one new transformer must be installed.
Utilities across the state and nation are struggling to secure the distribution system transformers they need to meet the needs of residential developers. Procurement times, which averaged about three months in 2020, stretched to more than a year by the end of last year, according to the American Public Power Association. In national surveys, the lack of transformers been specifically identified by builders as a concern for 2023.
In early May, CPS Energy, which serves San Antonio, had 645 of the 35-kilovolt transformers used in residential subdivisions ready for installation—and requests for more than 3,400. CPS warns that some developments could be waiting for more than a year.