Electric power supply chains: Achieving security, sustainability, and resilience

• Nearly all of the respondents (98%) consider operational challenges as major disruptors in their supply chains.
• In addition, almost all (92%) also see macroeconomic factors, such as labor shortages and trade policy, as significant disruptors. Pandemic-driven labor shortages, on top of preexisting shortages resulting from a rapidly retiring workforce, are further exacerbating supply chain challenges.

The impact of these disruptors on the electric power sector has been wide-ranging—from increased costs to project delays (figure 2). They’re not only impacting grid modernization efforts and clean energy deployment, but also causing service-related delays. Electric power companies are draining inventories as they continue to upgrade equipment, while replacements are often delayed.³ And ripple effects are impacting the broader economy, sometimes slowing new home construction due to a lack of electrical equipment—especially distribution transformers and smart meters⁴—and delaying transportation electrification.⁵

According to our survey, respondents believe increased operational costs (86%), project delays (64%), and loss of productivity (62%) are significantly impacting the industry. Among the industries most acutely affected by these supply chain constraints has been the solar industry, where a third of all utility-scale solar capacity scheduled in the United States for completion in Q4 2021 was delayed by at least a quarter. At least 13% of the planned capacity for completion in 2022 has either been delayed by a year or canceled.⁶ This trend will likely continue over the next two years as some utilities have warned they may need to delay 3–4 GW of total solar installations until 2024 due to shortages of solar panels and other equipment.⁷

A severe shortage of key commodities, materials, and labor can create an inflationary cost environment for companies, resulting in increased component costs. Transformer prices have doubled, while the average lead time for delivery has at least tripled from what it was two years earlier, reaching 52 weeks in some cases (figure 3).⁸

Demand growth could widen the gap between climate goals and critical material supplies

Meeting a 100% clean electricity standard in the United States between 2035 and 2050 is expected to require tripling or quadrupling each year the 25 GW of wind and solar capacity added in 2021.⁹ Renewable developers currently have 282 GW of wind and solar in project pipelines in the United States through 2025.¹⁰ In addition, grid storage deployments would need to increase from an average of 1.6–11 GWh per year in the 2020s to 40–250 GWh per year in the 2040s.¹¹

As electric power companies continue to announce decarbonization goals, many will seek to build new renewable energy projects to fulfill them. And demand for renewables could increase even more rapidly with enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act and the incentives it provides.¹² But building clean energy technologies such as solar and wind generally requires more minerals, including rare earth elements, than traditional fossil-fuel technologies.¹³ Our analysis shows that about 31 million tons of key minerals/materials are required to support solar and wind demand in the United States by 2050 (figure 4). With high reliance on imports for most of these materials—and competing demand from other industries for the same minerals—there’s an imminent mismatch between US climate goals and the availability of critical minerals essential to meet them.

Further, the clean energy transition will require a significant expansion of transmission and distribution infrastructure, both new and end-of-life line replacements, including power transformers and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems, as well as digital equipment such as digital relays, smart meters, and smart inverters.¹⁴ And the raw materials for many of these are highly dependent on a small number of countries, making them vulnerable to disruption.¹⁵

The electric power sector is pursuing strategies to overcome these immediate challenges—but are they sufficient?

Electric power and renewable energy companies are taking steps to resolve these supply chain pressures, including using emergency stocks of components such as transformers to address short-term demand, reviewing and planning all scheduled work, substituting available materials when possible, improving communication with suppliers on the timing and delivery of materials, and digitalizing processes to boost efficiency. Figure 5 highlights the top three strategies our survey respondents are pursuing to overcome supply chain challenges.

Other solutions that companies, end users, and governments are implementing—particularly in the clean energy sector—include developing more domestic component manufacturing, boosting mining and production of critical minerals and materials, and committing to future demand to incentivize global investment. In June 2022, a group of independent power producers formed the US Solar Buyer Consortium to support expansion of the domestic solar supply chain.¹⁶

However, to mitigate far-reaching impacts, the electric power sector will likely need to adopt new, holistic approaches. Developing resilient supply chains that are also secure and sustainable will require a cohesive supply chain management strategy.

Securing the electric power supply chain is increasingly critical

For electric power companies, the number of suppliers and contracted laborers providing expertise and skills has expanded over the years to meet a wide range of industry needs.²¹ For example, from 2015 to 2020, Exelon’s supplier pool had grown by 18%, to 8,000 suppliers, and its spending rose by 13% to US$9.5 billion.²² In the case of clean energy technologies, concerns about supply chain security affect not only manufactured components but also go deeper into the key materials and critical minerals needed to build those components (see Renewable transition: Separating perception from reality). To manufacture a solar panel, about 40 components must get to the factory, including rare earth elements,²³ making analyzing not just Tier 1, but also Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers increasingly important to diversify supply risk.

While having such a vast breadth and depth of suppliers can help mitigate supply constraints caused by natural disasters, pandemics, trade policies, and more, it can also open the door to more noncompliance and safety risks, especially without adequate supplier qualification and risk management controls. Understanding these multitier supplier dependencies and vulnerabilities better can help power and renewable energy companies address not only the physical but also the cybersecurity risks that the sector is increasingly facing.

Consequently, many companies are expanding their supply chain management approach and integrating it into total third-party risk management (TPRM). In fact, their third-party networks now go well beyond suppliers of goods and services to include affiliates and joint venture partners, research and development (R&D) organizations, technology incubators, retailers, distributors, and sales agents that can cause disruptions in the supply chain.

Until recently, companies in the electric power sector often addressed supply chain risk management in siloes, separating risks related to policy, technology, finance, corruption, cybersecurity, suppliers and other stakeholders, and more. And supply chain owners often had sole responsibility. But siloed approaches to TPRM can result in check-the-box exercises in which a business unit or function narrowly focuses on a single part of the business, without considering the effects on other areas of supply chain. Today, there’s increasing coordination between functions in a more integrated, cross-risk approach. Executives across the organization, from chief financial officers to chief operating officers, are increasingly involved, and some companies are combining supply chain with TPRM. These programs are continuously monitored to enable proactive management of emerging risks. A senior supply official at a Midwestern utility noted that they recently integrated supplier relationship management into their supplier quality team and aligned it with the supply chain function.

Companies can manage these risks by improving supply chain visibility—illuminating each tier of the supply chain from primary supplier (Tier 1) through their supplier’s supply chain (Tier 2 and beyond). With greater visibility, they can better understand the potential risks involved with each supply chain partner, across all tiers. For example, a company might think it is diversifying risk by procuring solar panels from four to five suppliers, but if those suppliers were all purchasing a critical element for producing solar panels, such as polysilicon, from the same supplier, the risk may be insufficiently managed. Most of our survey respondents reported limited visibility into their supplier network beyond Tier 1 or Tier 2 (figure 6).

Managing cybersecurity risk in electric power supply chains

Cyberattacks targeting energy systems have increased over the last five years,²⁴ and power sector vulnerability may be rising as renewable and distributed energy resources (DERs) are added and systems become more complex, digitalized, and decentralized. What’s more, these attacks are more frequently targeting operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS), and the software used to connect information technology (IT) and OT.²⁵ These cyber criminals often see ICS as attractive targets for ransomware thinking operators might pay up to avoid downtime.

Digitalizing resources and connecting them to operating systems can create new vulnerabilities, including supply chain risks for digital components such as software, virtual platforms and services, and data. Several cyberattacks specifically targeting the energy sector have exploited supply chain vulnerabilities in trusted third-party suppliers with less secure networks (see Managing cyber risk in the electric power sector for additional details).

The supply chain for digital components is complex, fragmented, and virtual. Software development is often sourced globally to save costs, and parts of the process may be subject to control by adversaries who could insert malicious code or otherwise interfere with software or data sets. Similarly, virtual platforms and services hosted in data centers within adversary nations are subject to the same types of collection and interference.

To prevent or limit the impact of future cyberattacks, electric power and renewable energy companies can also enhance visibility into their suppliers’ cybersecurity profiles and require that they meet certain minimum standards. For example, they could require that suppliers have a formal cybersecurity program for the product or services offered or provide a “bill of materials” detailing the provenance of all product components. Figure 7 indicates how widespread selected vendor requirements currently are among our survey respondents.

Notably, some power and utility companies are applying lessons learned from compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC-CIP) standards. While NERC-CIP standards are mandated only for bulk electric system assets, some power companies are expanding their enhanced cybersecurity supply chain risk management to other parts of their businesses.

Building sustainability into the electric power supply chain is becoming a priority

Companies in the electric power sector are increasingly committing to putting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations at the core of their decision-making process and integrating it into their strategies and operations. And supply chains are becoming an important focus area. Since supply chains are outside a company’s core operations, they can create some of the highest ESG compliance exposure. The sector’s vast breadth and depth of suppliers also means that ESG risks, especially for the clean energy sector, reach multiple value chain partners and sectors, including manufacturing, mining, and construction. As investors, customers, regulators, and other stakeholders begin demanding sustainable and ethical practices across the production cycle of clean energy, ESG considerations in the supply chain will likely multiply.

Electric power companies can benefit from a thorough understanding of potential ESG risk exposure across their supply chains—from raw material procurement through production and, ultimately, the entire product life cycle. They can also gain from incorporating traceability into the supply chain to track the provenance of products and components from the point of origin through delivery to the end user, providing supply chain transparency for investors and customers. For example, many solar developers adhere to the Solar Energy Industries Association's Solar Supply Chain Traceability Protocol—a set of guidelines intended to trace the origin of solar materials, especially to prove their procurement is free from unethical labor practices.²⁶

The ESG agenda for electric power supply chains

In 2020, Scope 3 emissions for the global electric power sector accounted for, on average, 110% more than Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions combined.²⁷ And supply chain emissions are a significant contributor to these emissions.²⁸ In March 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed requiring US-listed companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions generated by suppliers and partners if they are material or included in any company’s emission reduction targets.²⁹ Companies in the sector have started prioritizing environmental issues in their supply chains, and approaches include gathering information on suppliers’ sustainability performance through the request for proposal (RFP) process, supplier scorecard reviews, and asking suppliers to voluntarily fill out annual sustainability surveys. However, only 13 utilities have committed to reducing some or all Scope 3 emissions.³⁰ According to our survey, only 36% of respondents have specific sustainability metrics in their supplier procurement process.

In the social sphere, electric power companies have often been at the forefront in developing their local communities economically—and momentum is growing for developing local supply networks. Two areas are especially important across electric power sector supply chains:

• Building a diverse supplier base: As in many other sectors, supplier diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a strategic focus for the electric power sector. The share of diverse supplier³¹ spending has been growing over time and is a substantial portion of the total supplier spend for many electric power companies. For example, PG&E’s annual diverse supplier expenditures increased 36% over 2016–2020, constituting about 39% of its total supplier spend.³² For some companies, supplier diversity is a corporate-level goal tied to executive compensation, and management reviews monthly diverse spend reports to monitor performance against established annual organizational unit goals.³³ Further, some companies support their prime suppliers in developing a stronger supplier diversity program for their own suppliers/subcontractors. One utility executive mentioned that they are seeking to better understand and influence subsupplier qualifications and the selection process.
• Ensuring adoption of ethical labor practices across the supplier base: Unethical labor practices, especially for clean energy technologies, have been a contentious issue impacting the sector’s growth. Examples include allegations of unethical labor practices in the mining and processing of raw materials for solar panels and poor human rights and environmental practices in cobalt mines.³⁴ Some electric power companies have begun to ask manufacturers to demonstrate that their products do not contain materials from areas using forced or involuntary labor.

While many companies have set a code of conduct for their suppliers that requires them to adhere to environmental standards, ensure DEI in their supply chains, safeguard employee health and safety, and maintain ethical labor practices, compliance is not universal. Creating meaningful ESG progress within the supply chain requires an engagement journey that moves from setting aggressive emissions reduction goals, to implementing initiatives to help suppliers meet goals, and creating additional value-added opportunities for suppliers. Figure 8 illustrates five steps that can help electric power and renewable energy companies build a strategic relationship with their suppliers to boost ESG engagement.

A circular economy can boost supply chain security, sustainability, and resilience

The linear nature of most electric power industry supply chains makes them highly susceptible to disruption. While traditionally associated primarily with recycling waste, applying circular economy (CE) initiatives across all phases of product and service life cycles can help power and renewable energy companies develop more secure, sustainable, and resilient supply chains. Embedding these initiatives into their business models can help companies reduce costs, optimize resources, and create added value through new products and services.

Deloitte’s CE framework (figure 9) for the electric power sector shows how products and materials move through the supply chain. It consists of three dimensions related to product/service flow that integrate circular strategies. It also involves cross-sector collaboration between public and private stakeholders. These dimensions/strategies give rise to new business models that enable multiple benefits for supply chains.

• Strategic dimensions: The circular supply chain’s primary focus is on keeping resources in the product life cycle at their highest value for as long as possible, which can be achieved by including any or all three dimensions:³⁵

1. Circular design: Reducing resource and material intensity requirements during production, use, or disposal. Strategies: Rethink, reduce, and redesign
2. Circular use: Extending and optimizing product life and slowing the resource transition to waste or resource recapture. Strategies: Repurpose, reuse, refurbish, and repair
3. Circular recovery: Reintegrating waste or production byproducts back into the manufacture of new products. Strategies: Recover and recycle

• Circular business models: Several business models emerge around the three dimensions that use circular strategies and support moving to circular supply chains. They generally coexist and coevolve to create a circular supply chain, providing multiple benefits to the stakeholders in the ecosystem. These business models include:
  • Product/process design: Design an asset, product, or service using less, recycled, or sustainable/renewable inputs and modular/recyclable designs.
  • Asset-as-a-service: The customer purchases a service for a limited time, while the manufacturer maintains the ownership.
  • Sharing platforms: Employ common management among multiple users of products.
  • Lifetime extension: Repair, upgrade, reuse, or recondition to extend product life.
  • Recover and recycle: Recover embedded materials, energy, and resources from products at the end of use.
• The stakeholder ecosystem: CE supply chains require collaboration across the value chain and cross-sectoral partnerships to create joint value and deliver impact at scale. This can foster innovation and overcome challenges such as lack of capital, knowledge, and tools for efficient operations.

Figure 10 provides examples of circular business models the electric power sector is implementing across the three dimensions.

Although many electric power companies are undertaking circular supply chain initiatives for more than one dimension, very few are taking comprehensive action across all three dimensions. According to our survey, only 6% of respondents are implementing CE activities across all three dimensions (figure 11).

Creating robust electric power supply chains: The road ahead

Companies in the electric power and renewable energy sectors should consider committing to circular economy principles and developing a longer-term vision for security, sustainability, and resilience. Below are some considerations for companies looking to realize this vision:

• Digitalize to increase 360-degree supply chain visibility.

Digitalization can enable complete visibility throughout the supply chain and improve the transparency and traceability of materials and products. Blockchain technology can enable authenticated data communication between supply chain stakeholders, thus increasing supply chain transparency. Digital twin and advanced analytics can help improve decision-making by ordering and tracking inventory, collecting, and storing performance data more efficiently, and proactively addressing maintenance issues before a failure occurs.

• Advance procurement departments’ role from enabling savings to creating value.
  

Sourcing in a circular supply chain requires greater planning and coordination that may supersede organizational boundaries. Therefore, procurement’s role as an interface to stakeholders in the upstream supply network should become more strategic. Procurement departments can improve their understanding of materials, affect the circularity of the final product, and become trusted advisors, especially on supplier knowledge.³⁶ Instead of just chasing savings, the environmental and social footprint criteria become increasingly important in sourcing decisions.

• Standardize for effective collaboration with stakeholders.

Standardization of products, processes, or procedures ensures all stakeholders in a supply chain are on the same page. It can enable lower production and procurement costs through economies of scale, easier and less expensive repair and replacement, as well as recycling. For example, in the case of solar, it would mean a more consistent method of designing products and assembling photovoltaic panels to make end-of-life recycling simpler and safer.

Supply chain disruptions will likely continue to occur, possibly with higher frequency. It is therefore increasingly important for the electric power sector to build resilient supply chains that are secure and sustainable, and can not only withstand such disruptions, but also emerge stronger.