We asked Lisa Napelitano, the Northeast Regional Sales Leader for Kris-Tech Wire, for her thoughts on electrification opportunities and projects.
Q: What are your thoughts on electrification opportunities right now?
A: “The industry is ripe for positive change, especially as the country is pressed into acting. It’s no secret the grid is reaching its usable end-of-life, and the circumstances are making it harder for the current system to thrive.
Storms are getting stronger every year, rising temperatures are pushing electricity use to its max, and emerging technology like AI (Artificial Intelligence) is drastically increasing the power data centers use annually. Renewable energy is finally breaking through and making headway as a reliable and unlimited energy source, but utilities are struggling to connect everything to the grid seamlessly.
Combined with the grid’s age, we’re looking at a difficult yet exciting time in our industry. As a wire manufacturer with 40 years of experience, we’ve seen a lot of advancement and improvement in the industry. With that said, there’s always room to expand and find new ways to achieve our energy goals. The opportunities within our company, industry, and the greater economy are growing bigger by the day, but everyone must pull in the same direction to find real success.
We’re excited about the possibility of enhancing the electrical grid by bringing new products to market, working with our distributor partners to find growth opportunities, and moving the country forward by providing people with reliable electricity.”
Q: What do you see are the future opportunities?
A: “We’re living in an interesting time because we’re starting to see a lot of initiatives gaining steam. For example, late last year, the Biden administration invested more than $3.5 billion to help strengthen the electrical grid.
Sure, the electrical grid is the main focal point of the project, but it brings so much more opportunity. Funded projects bring high-paying electrical jobs, more opportunities to expand a growing workforce, renewable energy programs, and so much more.
The reality is the future opportunities we’re seeing today are the products of more technology, higher demand, and aging infrastructure. It had to happen eventually, and as we keep moving forward with more solar and wind power, more demand, and better technology, the opportunities will continue to grow.”
Q: Why is electrification important to you?
“Very few people are making it through their days without electricity. For most of us, from the moment we wake up until the second we turn off the light and go to sleep, electricity is either keeping us moving in the background or actively pushing us along.
As a country, electricity is our way of creating a greener future and the lifeline for our ongoing technological revolution. Right now, we’re seeing the rise of electric vehicles and renewable energy. Renewables are generating a massive amount of electricity but having trouble connecting to the greater electrical grid, leading to costly delays and retrofits. Meanwhile, electric vehicles are the future of driving, but also increasing demand on the grid – stressing the need for more electrification and grid enhancement.
Also, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technological advancements have made everyone a data scientist. But the electricity needed to power data centers across the U.S. is slated to more than double its current usage by 2030. Long story short, electrification is important to me and everyone else because it’s literally powering America’s future!”
Q: How are you working with your company and partners to continue this success?
A: “We’ve seen the need for more electrification for years and have worked proactively with our partners and distributors to anticipate what they’ll need and when they’ll need it.
For example, we’ve been working with our partners to stock more PV wire in anticipation of more commercial, community-, and utility-scale solar projects coming online in the next few years. We’re also working with large-scale distributors to supply utilities across the United States with tracer wire, covered line wire, and other products to help them keep the lights on and machines running.
As we navigate grid updates and emerging energy developments, we’ll keep a finger on the industry’s pulse. As our distributor partners reach out with new requests, we’ll jump in to ensure they have exactly what they need to keep moving forward.”
Q: Do you believe electrification can be a recruiting tool for future workers in our supply chain?
A: “There is no doubt that electrification projects can have a profound impact on recruiting throughout the supply chain. As we go about replacing current grid components and lines with state-of-the-art solutions, the country can increase the carrying capacity of those lines AND improve overall system reliability.
Beyond that, electrification projects will be a rallying point, so to speak, for the entire supply chain. Manufacturers will need more employees to produce wire and cable, transformers, and develop solar and wind farms. Once those products are manufactured, we’ll need more truckers and logistical experts to ensure they get to where they need to go on time. Further down the line, we’ll need more electricians, land buyers, grant writers, project managers, and many more skilled laborers to put everything to use.
Electrification will be at the forefront of our minds in the coming years, especially as we work on improving the aging electrical grid. But like other major initiatives we’ve seen throughout the decades, including the U.S. tech boom in the late 90s and early 2000s and today’s AI growth, emerging industries and initiatives drive growth. There will always be a need for more jobs, more people, more investment, and expansion.”
Q: How will electrification impact business over the next decade?
A: “Nearly every business relies on a steady stream of electricity reliably flowing. Without it, business stops on a dime. As more electrification projects get underway and are completed, companies will have more access to a wider range of options.
What does that mean? It means they can choose what energy they want to receive by opting for renewable energy. They can also generate their own renewable energy with rooftop solar or wind turbines.
In our specific industry, it means researching, developing, and bringing new wire and cable solutions to market. While it’s true that the grid is nearing its usable lifespan, the debate between adding new lines and substations versus updating and improving current infrastructure is still happening.
The answer is a bit of both, as current lines and substations use technology that’s been around for decades, if not longer. We’re also adding more electricity to the grid than ever before.
The solution could be to update our infrastructure with improved lines capable of carrying much more current and install more infrastructure to safely and quickly get renewable energy sources added to the grid.”
Q: What kinds of work are you doing now as a result of electrification opportunities that you might not have had the chance to do a few years ago?
A: “For us, we’ve been fortunate to have fantastic distribution partners who have helped us play a role in rural electrification projects, high-speed internet installations, and solar farm development. The companies that use our products are working on projects across many industries.
For example, we may work with a distributor who is serving a small utility company. Within their organization, they may be handling several projects that Kris-Tech can consult on, including rural broadband projects, solar farm development, and installing or updating old transmission and distribution lines. By being a good and trustworthy partner, we’ve been able to build partnerships with companies and utilities across the U.S.
We understand what their pain points are and work alongside them to improve and expand the electrical grid for hundreds of millions of people.”
Q: Does working on electrification projects make you proud of what you do every day?
A: “Absolutely! Kris-Tech has been a people-first company for 40 years. Everything we do is for the betterment of our communities. Everyone deserves access to electricity, especially in 2024. We’ve seen how quickly conditions can deteriorate when the power goes out, so we’re fanatical about ensuring our products are designed well, reliable, and ready when people need them most.
I’m always happy to work with customers to find solutions that provide power to their end users, bring clean energy to the grid, or turn the lights on every day. It’s easy to get into the job and think it’s only about selling wire. But it’s so much more than that. We’re powering communities, growing the economy, and making the world move smoothly every day.”
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