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For most of the last decade, an electrical engineer could issue a one-line diagram for bid and expect the major equipment to show up well before the building was ready for it. That assumption no longer holds. According to Wood Mackenzie data cited by POWER magazine, average lead times for power transformers reached 128 weeks in the second quarter of 2025, and generator step-up units averaged 144 weeks. In May, pv magazine USA reported PwC analysts putting lead times for some high-capacity units at up to four years.

Demand is the main story. AI data center construction is pulling hard on grid equipment, and industrial electrification is adding to it. POWER reports that demand for power transformers has risen 119% since 2019 while prices climbed 77%, and Wood Mackenzie estimated a 30% supply shortfall for power transformers in 2025, with about 10% for distribution units. New factories are coming, including more than $1 billion in Hitachi Energy investment, but some of that capacity will not be online until 2028.

For engineering and project teams, the useful question is not when the shortage ends. It is how to design and plan so that a single piece of equipment does not decide your schedule.

Treat Long-Lead Equipment as a Design Input

On many projects, procurement begins once the design reaches a certain level of maturity. With transformer lead times measured in years, that sequence breaks. The main transformer ratings and switchgear configuration need to be settled early enough to place orders while the rest of the design is still moving.

In practice, that means pulling load studies and utility coordination forward. If you are waiting on 90% drawings to confirm the main transformer size, you are probably already late. Engineers should be comfortable making a defensible sizing decision on preliminary load data and documenting the assumptions behind it, rather than waiting for certainty that will arrive too late to matter.

It also means having an early, honest conversation with the owner. A reservation or early release of a purchase order for long-lead gear carries some financial risk. Missing an energization date by a year usually carries much more.

Standardize Wherever the Application Allows

Not everyone agrees the shortage is purely about capacity. In the same POWER analysis, transformer broker Patrick Tarver argued that much of the constraint comes from what he called “procurement blinders,” noting that standard substation units can ship in roughly 12 to 14 months once engineering is approved. Heavily customized units wait longer.

Whether or not you accept that view entirely, the takeaway for designers is clear. Every nonstandard impedance or custom accessory narrows the pool of suppliers who can build the unit quickly. Before locking a specification, ask which requirements are truly driven by the application and which are carried over from a previous project’s template.

A few practical moves help here:

– Write performance-based specifications that allow more than one manufacturer to comply.
– Use common ratings and voltages where system studies permit.
– Evaluate refurbished or remanufactured units for noncritical or temporary service.
– Ask suppliers early which configurations they have in production or in stock.

Look Past the Transformer

Transformers get the headlines, but they are not the only long pole. POWER notes that circuit breaker prices have risen 47% since 2021 and medium-voltage switchgear about 50%. Generators and automatic transfer switches can stretch schedules too.

A simple but underused tool is a long-lead equipment register maintained by the engineering team, not only by procurement. For each item, track the design freeze date, submittal approval date, factory test date, and promised ship date. Review it at every design meeting. Submittal review turnaround is one of the few parts of the lead time that the engineer directly controls, and slow approvals can quietly add weeks to an already long queue.

Design for Phased Energization

When the permanent equipment will arrive after the rest of the facility is ready, a good design gives the owner options. That can include:

– Sizing pads and conduit for the final rating while energizing initially with a smaller or temporary unit.
– Planning a temporary power arrangement that allows commissioning of process equipment before the permanent service is live.
– Splitting load across multiple smaller transformers that are easier to source than one large unit.
– Reserving physical space and protective device settings for future capacity so a later upgrade does not require a redesign.

These choices cost some money and space up front. They can also let a plant begin commissioning months earlier than it otherwise would.

The Skills That Matter Now

This environment changes what hiring managers should look for in electrical engineers. Strong technical design is still the foundation, but the engineers who add the most value right now can also coordinate early with utilities and manufacturers and write specifications that are flexible without being vague. Experience with power system studies on preliminary data is especially useful, since that is often what makes early ordering possible.

These engineers are in demand by utilities and data center builders at the same time, which makes them harder to find and slower to hire. Teams facing a surge of projects may want to consider contract engineers for studies or specification work to keep long-lead orders on schedule while they build permanent staff.

Conclusion

Long lead times for transformers and switchgear are likely to stay with us for several more years, even as new factories come online. The teams that handle it best treat equipment availability as an engineering constraint from the first week of design. They standardize specifications where they can, and they design facilities that can energize in phases.

If your team needs electrical engineers with this kind of experience, Converge Resources helps companies find talent across electrical and controls engineering. You can learn more at www.ConvergeResources.com.