General overview
As is often the case in an election year, we saw a slowdown in the general macroeconomic climate across the U.S., and the power delivery sector was no different. Uncertainty around budgets, funding, and project pipelines led to a slowdown in hiring during the second half of the year, though there are promising signs that the market will pick up in 2025.
Rate cases dominated discussions for many utilities across the U.S., contributing to the decline in the job market and creating a stalemate between utilities and contracting firms. From the start of 2023 through August 12, 2024, state utility regulators authorized $9.7 billion in net rate increases, more than double the $4.4 billion authorized in 2022. This trend underscores the growing need for utilities to fund infrastructure improvements, wildfire mitigation efforts, and the integration of renewable energy sources.
Transmission & Distribution
b19 observed a decline in the distribution job market during 2024. Both 2022 and 2023 were excellent years for the joint use and make-ready sectors of distribution projects. However, factors such as the rise of DERMS, permitting issues, and delays in the allocation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds and Rural Digital Opportunity Funds (RDOF) led to a slowdown in this area.
Additionally, we saw a decline recruitment activity within the California distribution market. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) delayed its decision on SDG&E’s rate case, causing uncertainty and resulting in a slowdown of outsourced work to consultants, which in turn decreased their appetite for hiring.
Substations
Substation engineering expertise still in in High Demand
Substation designers, engineers, project managers, and technical engineering managers continue to be the most sought-after skillsets for b19 Consulting’s clients. Professionals with a P.E. license or an E.I.T. certification who can obtain their P.E. within the next 12 months remain in particularly high demand. Among these roles, protection and controls (P&C) engineers are the most desired engineering specialists.
The rise of AI and the boom in data center projects have become increasingly prominent trends, with both expected to grow even further.
In 2022 and 2023, we observed many high-voltage technical experts transitioning from utilities, EPCs, and engineering consultancies to renewable energy developers. This trend has continued in 2024, but we are also seeing the emergence of data center developers building out their internal high-voltage substation teams. These developers are offering exceptionally competitive salaries to attract top talent.
Key data center developers driving this demand include Equinix, Digital Realty, AWS, Google, and Meta.
