The Department of Energy released this week a final transformer rule that protects steel jobs in Butler.
Pennsylvania’s Butler Works Plant is an industry leader and the sole domestic manufacturer of grain-oriented electrical steel, the proposed rule threatened to eliminate 1,300 union jobs and to shut down an important manufacturer.
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm says distribution transformers are essential for our grid.
“They convert high voltage electricity from power plants to levels that are safe enough for homes and businesses to use,” said Granholm. Currently, there are over 60 million distribution transformers mounted on utility poles in neighborhoods nationwide.”
A recent study projects a tripling of distribution transformer installations by 2050.