Matt Brandrup heads the Rural Electric Supply Cooperative, a Wisconsin-based coop that provides utility products to electric coops in several states in the Midwest. In this episode, Brandrup talks about the “staggering increases” he is seeing in the cost of transformers, conductors, and other utility products (up an average of 18% in 2022 alone), transformer shortages, labor shortages, the special types of steel needed by the industry, and why tight market conditions are likely to persist for years to come. (Recorded March 23, 2023.)