CHALLENGES
Capacity, Constraints, and Impacting Factors Constraints mentioned by the interviewed energy companies were a shortage in the workforce, extended equipment lead times, government regulations, green energy requirements being ahead of existing technology, green energy reliability challenges, inflation, outdated infrastructure, weather, and collaboration difficulties between energy company competitors. Existing Challenges Workforce shortage makes it difficult to support existing infrastructure and loads. Equipment lead times are extended, making it difficult to perform significant updates and maintenance on existing infrastructure. Inflation is raising maintenance and staffing costs and customer rates. Outdated equipment is leading to more maintenance and replacement on the existing system. Weather is causing overhead lines to break, and line workers are repairing them in harsh conditions–primarily in the winter. Future Challenges The industry's future is dependent on workforce. Shortages impact the ability to operate existing infrastructure. Workforce shortages will also be a large hindrance to expansion. If expansion occurs, current employees may leave the industry to avoid working longer hours, which would further impede growth. Extended equipment lead times not only impact future maintenance, but also lead to higher costs and extended project deadlines. Larger providers anticipate having better access to equipment due to their priority with suppliers. This may hinder smaller utility providers from competing or may prevent their ability to expand. Government regulations and green energy requirements are ahead of the available technology. This may force companies to change how they conduct business and may reduce system unreliability, which could lead to additional power outages. Human error and equipment malfunction is the leading reason for outages, and this would be anticipated to increase. Weather is an uncontrollable constraint. Cooperatives are installing more buried transmission lines to reduce weather-related repairs and maintenance. As the size of the electrical grid increases, the risk for weather affecting it also increases depending on the methods of implementation. Due to the competitive nature of utility companies, and their apprehension to share non-proprietary information, valuable data on how to best expand the State's electrical infrastructure is difficult to obtain.
40 | Electric
South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development
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