Electric Utilities Remain Challenged in Supply Network Resiliency and Supplier Collaboration

In a recent Supply Chain Matters article, ProcureAbility CEO Conrad Snover spoke with Executive Editor Bob Ferrari about the growing challenges electric utilities companies face – and how they can strengthen their supply networks for the future.

Within Supply Chain Matters research arm’s 2025 Predictions for Industry Specific Demand and Supply Networks, three specific industries were outlined with the most consequential challenges during this year.  The specified industry supply networks were:

• Commercial Aircraft
• Global Automotive
• Semiconductor, High Tech and Consumer Electronics

Within the latter category, it specifically included Electrical Utilities and Infrastructure Supply Networks.

The implications for vast amounts of electrical power needed to support Advanced AI compute needs, coupled with the ongoing and eventual increase in electric powered motor vehicles are leading to compelling needs for public utilities to both expand capacity and provide added resilience to electrical power grids. To reach zero-emissions commitments, such grids have to be supported by renewable energy sources.

The International Energy Association (IEA) has estimated that global investment in electrical grid infrastructure reached upwards of $400 billion in 2024. The agency further predicts that annual spending will rise to $600 billion by 2030. Demand levels are reportedly expected to increase six-fold in energy use in the decade ahead.

Coupled with such demand needs is the reality that existing global wide electrical grid infrastructure is rather dated and in need of upgrades along with supplemental capacity.

Thus, Supply Chain Matters predicts that protecting and supplementing electrical infrastructure supply networks will become more strategic in government policies. In 2025 and subsequent years, concerns about dependence on a single country such as China will persist. Concerns about reliance on a particular region such as Asia in supply network concentration will also remain. These include the specification of technologies and underlying components and will drive supply network sourcing developments.

Read Bob Ferrari’s full article in Supply Chain Matters.

As CEO of ProcureAbility, Conrad focuses on client success, employee engagement and culture, and product innovation. Conrad has more than 25 years of experience in strategic procurement and supply chain management. He has deep experience in launching and managing programs focused on strategy design, procurement transformation, category management, strategic sourcing, supplier development, and organizational sustainability.

Conrad has consulted with numerous Fortune 1000 companies in a variety of industries including oil and gas, utilities, technology, banking and insurance, hospitality, and healthcare. Conrad is on the Board of Directors of both the Utility Supply Management Alliance (USMA), and the Utility Purchasing Management Group (UPMG) and is a frequently requested presenter at national supply chain conferences such as USMA, UPMG, Platts, SIG, WEI, and APPA.  He previously worked in strategic procurement as a consultant with Kearney.

Conrad holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Washington. A retired sponsored athlete and aspiring ski-mountaineer, he spends his free time adventuring in the outdoors with his wife and their young son.

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