Cooperative Living July 2022 - 16

MEMBER FYI
Supply Chain is
Top Priority for Co-ops
by Steven Johnson, Staff Writer
Electric utilities work to minimize disruptions of key equipment
A
s summer storm season approaches, electric
cooperatives are taking steps to deal with
unprecedented disruptions in the supply chain
for critical electrical equipment.
At the national level, cooperative leaders successfully
advocated for a change in manufacturing transformers,
as President Joe Biden signed
orders in early June to fast-track
domestic production of key grid
components.
At the regional level,
cooperatives in the mid-Atlantic
are working together to bring
attention to broken links in the
supply chain that they say could
threaten timely system restoration
if major storms knock vital
equipment out of commission.
SUPPLY SHORTAGE
Kentucky-based United Utility
Supply Cooperative is the
longstanding source for materials
and equipment used by electric
cooperatives in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
Gary Burnett, executive vice president, has been with
UUS for more than 40 years and says he has never seen every
major item used by its member cooperatives as affected as
they are today.
" In the past, we in the utility supply business have
encountered supply chain issues with certain products, " he
says. " But typically, those issues worked themselves out within
a reasonable amount of time, which didn't have a real impact
on cooperatives meeting their daily business needs. Nor did
it impact their abilities for emergency restorations. "
Now, however, backlogs exist across the board, with
transformers, conductors, meter bases and fi erglass products
at the top of the list. Burnett said manufacturers are quoting
lead times of more than 50 weeks for new orders on those
items and have placed allocations on distributors such as UUS.
" Some manufacturers of these products have ceased taking
orders for their products for the balance of 2022. We are
currently scheduling with manufacturers for 2023 material
14 ● Cooperative Living ●
July 2022
Manufacturers
are quoting lead
times of more than
50 weeks for
new orders.
needs, " Burnett says.
Some relief may come through Biden's authorization
of the Defense Production Act to cut red tape and boost
domestic production of transformers.
" The Biden administration's use of the Defense Production
Act to shorten lead times for supplies of electric transformers
is a much-needed step to support
reliability and resilience, " says Jim
Matheson, president and CEO of the
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association, which represents about
900 co-ops around the country.
WORKING COOPERATIVELY
Analysts say solutions require more
than a quick fix, though. Freight
deliveries, shipping containers, oils
used in transformers, paper, computer
chips - all are part of a logistics
chain overwhelmed by the pandemic,
shipping issues, a shortage of workers,
supply and demand, global energy
prices and the war in Ukraine, among
other factors.
Electric cooperatives in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware
have taken the lead in action by forming a group to bring the
scope of disruptions to the attention of lawmakers and
regulatory bodies. Th group, called the Coalition for the
Advancement of Reliable Electric Systems, plans summits
and informational presentations during the next few months.
" It is important that elected officials and regulators
understand the unprecedented scope of this problem and
the fact that cooperatives are taking steps to deal with it, "
says Andrew Vehorn, vice president of member and public
ff airs for the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association
of Electric Cooperatives.
Burnett says the Sixth Cooperative Principle of
Cooperation among Cooperatives has really taken root
during the supply chain crisis.
" Member cooperatives are working together sharing
information with one another pertaining to utility products,
and helping one another out when they have a need,
especially during emergency restoration efforts, " he says. 
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Cooperative Living July 2022

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