> Plus, General Electric broke up, and GE Vernova now has the transformer business.
Slight clarification, GE Vernova has the (most of) the medium and high voltage transformer business. ABB bought GE Industrial Solutions which includes all of GE’s low-voltage (under 1000 volts) transformers (plus all other sub-1000 volt GE switchgear, breakers, panel boards, etc) plus some 5-15kV medium voltage lines.
Right, but it's the big semi-custom stuff that's hard to get. Distribution transformers (the things on poles) are a commodity.
Part of the problem with generator step-up transformers is that the input side generator specs are determined by the generator, and the output side transmission grid specs are determined by the grid operator. The transformer is the component stuck with the job of making those compatible. That's the kind of problem which leads to N x M variants being needed.
Slight clarification, GE Vernova has the (most of) the medium and high voltage transformer business. ABB bought GE Industrial Solutions which includes all of GE’s low-voltage (under 1000 volts) transformers (plus all other sub-1000 volt GE switchgear, breakers, panel boards, etc) plus some 5-15kV medium voltage lines.