The Spec Op-Ed: Our strained power grid needs updating, but there’s a problem

By Ron Harper, President & CEO of JFE Shoji Power Canada

Every day, Canadians rely on electricity to go about our daily lives without a second thought.

Our fridges and freezers keep our food fresh, our phones and computers connect us to work and information and our transportation, emergency and education systems rely on our electrical grid to keep our communities running.

But what most Canadians don’t pause to think about is whether our electrical grid can keep up with our growing demand for power.

North America’s power grid is under pressure. As more people switch to electric vehicles, heavy industry electrifies, more clean energy is added to the mix and power-hungry data centres for AI keep growing, electricity use is expected to jump by more than 50 per cent over the next 25 years.

But there’s a problem: about 70 per cent of the core power grid has outlived its expected lifespan and needs to be replaced. Without infrastructure updates, our already outdated power infrastructure will struggle to keep up — and we will start to feel the effects in our day-to-day lives.

A key component of these much-needed updates to our power grid is a material called grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES). This special type of steel is made of iron and silicon, and is mainly used in things like transformers and large electrical machines. “Grain-oriented” means the tiny crystals (or “grains”) in the metal are all lined up in the same direction. Think of it like combing hair so that all the strands go the same way — it becomes smoother and easier to work with. This alignment makes it easier for the magnetic field in a transformer to flow through it, reducing overall energy loss.

The demand for this steel is rising fast, but there isn’t enough global production to meet it. In 2024, 80 per cent of the world’s grain-oriented steel production — about 4.4 million metric tons — came from Asian producers. Chinese mills represent about 60 per cent of the total global supply, followed by Japan, South Korea and India. Cleveland-Cliffs in Ohio is the only North American producer, but its output represents a modest portion of total global production. Currently, there are no Canadian manufacturers of grain-oriented electrical steel.

The situation is made worse by trade issues and tariffs, which are adding delays and driving up costs. Long lead times for new transformers — sometimes over five years — are now common, slowing down new projects and upgrades. There are many reasons for the inability to expand and replace our grid at the pace needed over the next 10 years, but we face a risky supply chain for GOES. Unless action is taken, we will be reliant on dominant global producers like China.

It’s crucial that governments, corporations and manufacturers work together to equip our power grid for the future. That means investing in Canadian manufacturers, strengthening supply chains and keeping strong ties with international suppliers.

With energy demand climbing and so much of the grid aging, we can’t afford to waste time. If we want to keep power flowing through our lives uninterrupted, modernizing our grid is the best way forward.

View the op-ed on The Hamilton Spectator’s website here: https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/our-strained-power-grid-needs-updating-but-theres-a-problem/article_7163fefc-db2a-5408-8341-cfce8bf47015.html?gift=1&gift_token=555761db-edb8-4bbc-9d8e-d9f3bd45c793