Energy Transition Is Reshaping the Power Industry | Mac Spiller, Maddox Industrial Transformer

The transformer shortage put the industry on the front page. Now the flood of startups, private equity, and foreign manufacturers is about to make it unrecognizable — and the companies built on culture, not capital, will be the ones left standing. At the 2026 IEEE PES T&D Show, Alan Ross of APC Media sat down with Mac Spiller, Chief Commercial Officer at Maddox Industrial Transformer, for a wide-ranging conversation on what it really takes to thrive in the most disrupted transformer market in a generation — from DOE 2029's total design overhaul to the $3 trillion installed base nobody has a plan to replace fast enough. Private ownership. Customer-first culture. Free technical education. And 30–40% of their fleet shipping with FR3 ester fluid. Maddox isn't following the industry's headlines — they're building for the next 100 years. 🔍 In this episode: • DOE 2029: why amorphous cores are a total transformer redesign — not a tweak • 30+ new transformer companies in 12–24 months — and what that really means • The 765kV gap: where the supply crunch still hasn't been solved • Why the transformer shortage put Elon Musk on Joe Rogan — and what it unleashed • Maddox's model: private ownership, customer-first, no private equity exit plans • Free educational YouTube content as a B2B growth strategy — and why it works • Hiring for culture first, industry knowledge second • 30–40% of Maddox transformers now shipping with FR3 ester fluid • Solid state transformers: real promise for EV & solar — but not widespread utility yet • Transformer rewinding in-house: restoring legacy units to 50-year service life • Remanufacturing vs. new: the 40/60 split that's quietly powering Maddox's growth • The $3 trillion replacement problem — and why transformers need to last 70 years 📌 CHAPTERS: 0:00 – Introduction & IEEE PES T&D 2026 0:30 – Meet Mac Spiller, CCO, Maddox Industrial Transformer 1:17 – DOE 2029: The Efficiency Regulation That Rewrites Transformer Design 2:03 – 30+ New Transformer Startups: The Market Is About to Look Unrecognizable 2:36 – Capacity Surge: What Happens When Everyone Builds at Once? 3:04 – The 765kV Gap: Where the Real Shortage Still Lives 4:27 – Transformer Shortage Goes Mainstream: Elon Musk, Joe Rogan & VC Capital 5:44 – What Makes Maddox Different: People, Culture & Private Ownership 7:27 – Free Educational Content: The Maddox YouTube Strategy 9:44 – Hiring for Character: Building a Team Outside the Electrical Industry 11:40 – The Workforce Crisis: Finding & Retaining Field Technicians 13:00 – Transformer Longevity: Building for 50–70 Years, Not 20 13:43 – The $3 Trillion Replacement Problem 14:43 – Solid State Transformers: Promise, Limits & Reality 16:31 – FR3 Ester Fluid: 30–40% of Maddox Units Ship With It — Here's Why 17:19 – Amorphous Cores & What's Next in Transformer Innovation 18:25 – Rewinding In-House: Extending Life of Legacy Transformers 19:21 – Maddox Business Model: Master Distributor + Remanufacturer 20:41 – Closing Thoughts: Building for 100 Years 🎙️ Guest: Mac Spiller, Chief Commercial Officer, Maddox Industrial Transformer 🎤 Host: Alan Ross, Managing Editor, APC Media 📍 Filmed at: IEEE PES T&D 2026 🔗 Learn more about Maddox Transformer: https://www.maddoxtransformer.com 🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn for exclusive updates and behind-the-scenes moments: 👉 Power Systems Technology Page:   / power-systems-technology   👉 Transformer Technology Page:   / transformer-technology   👉 Women in Power Systems:   / women-power-systems   🌐 Visit our website to dive deeper into our offerings and discover valuable resources: https://powersystems.technology/ 📧Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive content and stay in the loop with exciting developments: https://powersystems.technology/subsc... #TransformerShortage #MaddoxTransformer #DOE2029 #TransformerIndustry #EnergyTransition #PowerTransformer #AmorphousCore #SolidStateTransformer #FR3Fluid #TransformerRemanufacturing #GridModernization #UtilityIndustry #PowerSystems #IEEEPES #EnergyInfrastructure