Empowering Grid Transformation:
Sealing Solutions for the Demands of a New Energy Era

After two decades of stagnant electricity demand, the U.S. transmission and distribution (T&D) industry is experiencing a seismic shift toward exponential growth. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Power and Utilities Industry Outlook, electricity demand rebounded with a 1.8% increase in September 2024, which is expected to lead to sustained growth after decades of relatively unchanged demand.

The ICF Consultants project that electricity demand will grow by approximately 25% by 2030 and 78% by 2050. This surge is driven by factors such as economic development, manufacturing and industrial growth, data center expansion, and the electrification of transportation, buildings, and industry.

As the industry navigates this era of transformation and increasing demand for electricity, it underscores the demand for robust T&D infrastructure to ensure grid reliability and resilience. This demand for robustness has positioned companies like Douglas Electrical Components at the forefront to deliver components like standard and custom hermetic solutions to ensure grid integrity and performance across applications and environments.

• Repurpose & Retrofit Existing Infrastructure: In most scenarios, the aging T&D infrastructure comprising legacy systems lacks the performance and environmental protection standards demanded by today’s applications. They all require repurposing or retrofitting without costly and large-scale rebuilds. Douglas Electrical Components addresses these challenges by providing standard and custom hermetic feedthroughs and sealing solutions engineered for retrofitting. These components enable the safe integration of sensors, controls, and new electrical pathways, helping extend equipment life, minimize downtime, and ensure system integrity in challenging or high-voltage environments.
• Enhance Existing T&D Systems: Grid hardening and modernization are essential to enhance the performance and resilience of legacy systems amid increasing demand and climate-related threats. These upgrades require high-performance and reliable components that can withstand performance, electrical, thermal, and environmental stresses. Douglas Electrical Components provides custom hermetic seals and feedthroughs designed to enable the safe integration of protection relays, advanced sensors, and monitoring systems for harsh environments. These custom-engineered systems help utilities meet their modernization goals without downtime, protecting against floods and similar threats.
• Scale Emerging Solutions: Scaling emerging grid solutions like high-efficiency inverters, superconducting cables, and advanced power electronics presents complex challenges in terms of thermal management, environmental protection, and mechanical integration. These technologies demand precision components that can perform well under load and demanding operating conditions. Douglas Electrical Components supports this evolution with custom hermetic feedthroughs and seals that meet the operating specifications. These solutions also enable efficient integration of next-generation technologies, accelerating deployment while maintaining system integrity, reliability and performance in the most challenging environments.

• Build New T&D Infrastructure: Next-generation substations, underground cabling, and high-capacity transmission lines require components that can withstand extreme pressures, voltages, and environmental conditions. Douglas Electrical Components delivers rugged and application-specific hermetic seals and feedthroughs that ensure system durability and operational safety. These solutions are engineered to meet the demands of modern infrastructure projects, enabling seamless integration, reducing risks, and supporting long-term grid performance in both traditional and remote installations. Douglas’ technology is not only useful in keeping harsh weather elements out, but also in maintaining pressurized internal media types like transformer oil or insulating gases in switchgear to ensure robust, long-term electrical performance.
• Manage & Flex Demand with Advanced Technologies: Advanced technologies like distributed energy resources (DER) and fuel cells are crucial for improving grid resilience and load balancing as utilities adjust to changing energy demands. Douglas Electrical Components’ enables these technologies by providing high-performance, application-specific sealing solutions:
• Energy Storage (Fuel Cells): Douglas designs hermetic electrical, thermocouple, fiber optic, power, and other feedthroughs for solid oxide and hydrogen fuel cells to ensure leak-tight performance in corrosive and high-pressure settings. These solutions promote long-term dependability, efficiency, and safety of energy storage systems.
• Distributed Energy Resources (DER): Douglas provides small, sturdy parts that guarantee long-lasting and maintenance-friendly connections in applications from solar inverters and battery storage to microgrid control units. In decentralized energy applications, they aid in uptime optimization and make installation simpler.

By partnering with Douglas Electrical Components, you gain access to innovative hermetic solutions that drive efficiency, reliability, and scalability, empowering your success in a rapidly evolving T&D industry.

• High-Voltage Substations: High-voltage substations need to withstand challenges like extreme electrical stress, environmental exposure, and the risk of insulation failure. These factors demand robust protection for components. Custom hermetic seals address these issues by ensuring leak-tight barriers that enhance reliability, safeguard critical components, and extend equipment lifespan under high-voltage operating conditions.
• Underground & Subsea Transmission: Underground and subsea transmission systems are exposed to harsh conditions including high pressure, moisture intrusion, and temperature fluctuations, which can compromise cable integrity and system reliability. Hermetic feedthroughs provide a critical solution by maintaining seal integrity in these environments, ensuring long-term performance and protection for buried or submerged electrical connections.
• Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Systems: Hydrogen and fuel cell systems are emerging as key technologies for grid-scale energy storage and clean mobility, offering high energy density and zero-emission operation. As these systems often operate under high pressure and involve corrosive environments, they require components that ensure absolute containment and reliability. Douglas provides leak-tight electrical and fluid feedthroughs specifically engineered to maintain safety, efficiency, and long-term performance in these demanding applications.
• Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): BESS are large-scale energy storage solutions that store excess electricity for use during peak demand, outages, or grid fluctuations. They are crucial in grid balancing and energy resilience. Custom hermetic sealing solutions ensure thermal and environmental protection within battery enclosures, safeguarding internal components from moisture, pressure changes, and thermal stress while maintaining internal conditions like gas purges or di-electric fluid fills.

• Solar Inverter and Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Enclosures: DER systems, including solar panels and localized storage, decentralize power generation to improve efficiency and resilience. Solar inverters convert DC electricity to AC for grid use, requiring durable, weather-resistant enclosures. Compact, field-proven components from Douglas simplify integration and provide robust sealing that withstands outdoor exposure and wide temperature variations.
• Data Centers and AI Infrastructure: Data centers and AI facilities demand uninterrupted power and climate control to support high-density computing operations. Douglas provides hermetic sealing for backup systems, cooling units, and power interfaces, maintaining environmental isolation and supporting uptime in high-reliability environments.