Powering Reliability: Grid Services Step Into the Spotlight

Hitachi Energy, Blackstone and Shermco partnership reflects push for long-term reliability in North America’s power system

16 Dec 2025

North America’s power grid is coming under growing pressure as electricity demand rises, infrastructure ages and expectations for reliability increase. In response, parts of the industry are rethinking what grid modernisation means, placing greater weight on long-term services rather than new equipment alone.

A recent partnership between Hitachi Energy, Blackstone Energy Transition Partners and Shermco illustrates the shift. The arrangement centres on Hitachi Energy taking a minority stake in Shermco, an electrical testing and maintenance group backed by Blackstone. The deal does not involve operational control or consolidation, but is aimed at expanding service capabilities across the grid.

Executives involved say the logic is straightforward. As networks become more complex and exposed to heavier loads and extreme weather, building new assets is no longer sufficient. Utilities are increasingly focused on keeping equipment operating safely and efficiently over decades.

Each partner plays a defined role. Hitachi Energy contributes grid technology and digital monitoring tools that allow utilities to detect faults earlier and manage assets more precisely. Blackstone Energy Transition Partners provides long-term capital targeted at critical energy infrastructure. Shermco brings field-based expertise, with teams that inspect, test, maintain and repair electrical systems for utilities, industrial customers and data centres.

The combined model emphasises lifecycle support, from installation through ongoing maintenance. Proponents argue that closer integration between technology providers, capital and service operators can reduce downtime, improve safety and extend asset life, at a time when grid failures carry higher economic and political costs.

Industry analysts say the partnership reflects a broader trend. Electrification, rapid growth in data centres and industrial expansion are pushing maintenance and reliability higher up investment agendas. Activities once treated mainly as operating costs are being reframed as strategic spending linked to risk management and resilience.

The effects may reach beyond utilities. Large power users could benefit from fewer disruptions and more predictable costs, while service-led growth could support workforce expansion and training, even as the sector struggles with skills shortages and the integration of digital tools into legacy systems.

As pressure on the grid intensifies, the next phase of modernisation appears set to be defined less by new hardware and more by the services that keep existing infrastructure running.