Make Transformers (Even) More Boring
- Emin Askerov
- Jun 18
- 2 min read
The humble transformer is at the heart of the electric grid. And for decades, it’s been a tailor-made marvel. Engineers loved the craft, utilities loved the high price that they passed on to consumers, and factories loved having “just the right” unit.
But times changed, and the transformer industry didn’t.
Until now.
Meet One Power, a U.S. company taking the most boring, glacial, and conservative part of the grid… and flipping it on its head. Not by reinventing the tech, but by making it standardized, boring, and, above all, fast.
Jereme Kent, CEO of One Power, describes the transformer industry:
“Every single transformer coming down that line is different. It’s rare to get an order for two or three of the same thing. Bespoke doesn’t work when you need a gigawatt in Columbus, Ohio, tomorrow.”
Instead of 18-month lead times, Kent’s team builds substations with “standardized 30 MW blocks”, and can drop them in “just 90 days”. That’s unheard of in a world where data centers wait 5 years to get grid access.
So, what’s the secret tech? Not magic. Not software. It’s a 100-year-old "Ford Model T” logic:
“We said: I’ve only got one block. It’s 30 megawatts. If you need 40 MW, you get 60. No custom designs. You want that? Wait five years like everyone else.”
This approach turns supply chain chaos into a competitive edge:
* Predictable costs and timelines
* Available spare parts and timely maintenance
* Real-time transformer health monitoring every 10 minutes (not once a year by oil sample 🤦♂️)
As someone who’s built and scaled factories and invested in electrical grid companies, I’ve seen what lack of standardization does. In my experience, trying to launch with tailor-made gear meant constant redesign, missed deadlines, and spiraling budgets. One Power is skipping that pain and showing others how.
The irony here is that One Power takes the most boring piece of energy equipment and makes it even more boring. But that might be the most exciting innovation in grid infrastructure today.
So maybe boring is the new disruptive.
This post was inspired by this episode of Redefining Energy Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7yjpE4HApyHMIkarxk8jYq?si=omVvl8ecR5yyL93QJkQsAg
