Back in August, it was reported that the electric transformer market was experiencing shortages resulting from supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19. Now, newly proposed rules by the U.S. Energy Department stand to make a bad situation much worse.

Recently, the Pittsburg Post-Gazette revealed the U.S. Energy Department has proposed new regulations that will literally destroy electric transformer manufacturing. The rules mandate how transformers are manufactured including replace certain features with more expensive elements. Not surprisingly, the Energy Department claims doing so will save consumers money, allegedly enhancing and even protecting America’s energy grid while, simultaneously, help fight climate change. From the Post-Gazette:

In 2022, the Biden administration designated grain-oriented electrical steel among “critical goods and materials” and invoked the Defense Production Act to ramp up production of power grid infrastructure such as transformers.

But last summer, 47 senators, including Pennsylvania Democrats Bob Casey and John Fetterman, wrote to Ms. Granholm to say the agency’s proposal undermines the administration’s own efforts “by phasing out the primary market for U.S.-produced [grain-oriented electrical steel].”

“We are concerned that requiring the use of amorphous steel for new distribution transformers could put the administration’s electrification goals at risk by exacerbating an existing grid vulnerability,” they wrote.

Fortunately, when public comment on the new rules was opened early last year, there have been multiple remarks made literally berating the new rules. What’s worse is that the new transformers will end up being larger and the size along with the new versions can result in any number of problems initially which will cause energy bills to go even higher.

Consequently, the only Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel core maker in the country, Butler Works, told the Post-Gazettte if the new transformer rules are adopted, the manufacturing plant will have to close throwing over 1000 people out of work.

It doesn’t help matters when climate cultists advocate for renewable energy schemes that do not supply adequate power while pushing to close nuclear and even coal-fired power plants. Simultaneously, with the incompetent leadership in charge of the Energy Department, it is ridiculous to mandate new rules on needed industrial products (like transformers) when they are in short supply.

But, then again, that may be the entire point. Since the left is in charge of key aspects of the U.S. government to dictate policies like those described above, there is no way that people, like Jennifer Granholm and Joe Biden, are not aware of the eventual outcome of these new transformer rules. The Biden administration may be dumb, but they’re not stupid.

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