I run a business flipping houses and remodeling rental properties. I was talking to the owner of the electrical supply house in our county yesterday and he told me they sold the last 200 amp meter base they had in stock the day before. They were probably one of the last stores in Tennessee that had any in stock. You can't build a house without one.
He also told me our power company has been removing transformers that are feeding barns or workshops. They don't have any spares to fix broken transformers in residential areas so they are stealing them from places that affect the fewest people. They haven't received any new transformers in several months.
The areas affected by the tornados last week are calling utility companies everywhere trying to find transformers and poles to repair the damage but there are very many spares left. He said if that storm had hit our county, he didn't think we would have the parts to get the power turned back on any time soon.
Crazy times ahead.
Not doubting the story. However, my power just went out last night due to a tornado in NW Iowa. We had two poles and two transformers down. The utility crews came last night and got power back on before midnight. Then they came again mid afternoon after the tree cleanup and have just installed the new poles and transformers. 24 hrs from incident and everything is back to normal. Just passing along info.
Most utility companies keep spares on hand. The problem is when they use up their reserves. Other people have commented the lead time on a replacement transformer is 12-24 months right now. If they fixed yours in 24 hours it was definitely a spare they already had on hand.