Hitachi to double US production of small and medium-sized power transformers

Hitachi Energy is building a new $528 million transformer factory in Gallman, Mississippi, more than doubling its U.S. production capacity for small and medium power transformers. These are the devices that step electricity down to usable voltages as it moves through the grid to homes and businesses. The new plant will make transformers in the 10 MVA to 160 MVA range, built for voltages up to 230 kV, and will eventually take over production from Hitachi's existing Crystal Springs, Mississippi facility. Production is set to start in 2029.

This is part of a larger $1.5 billion push by Hitachi to expand U.S. manufacturing, with additional capacity increases planned at facilities in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Tennessee. The company says the expansion is meant to ease industry-wide shortages of transformers, which have been in short supply as data centers, factories, and the broader shift toward electric appliances and vehicles push up demand for grid equipment.

For homeowners, this isn't something requiring any immediate action, but it's worth knowing about if you've been told a home electrical upgrade, solar interconnection, or new heat pump or EV charger installation is delayed because a utility is waiting on a transformer. Those bottlenecks have been a real problem lately. More manufacturing capacity, once it comes online in a few years, could eventually help shorten those waits, though the new Mississippi plant won't start producing units until 2029.