I’ve been thinking/talking/living this a lot lately.
We have really talented power engineers across the industry—people who understand systems, reliability, constraints, and how to actually solve problems. And yet, a lot of that talent is still being spent on… neighborhood subdivision design.
Don’t get me wrong— new subdivision design is an important part of the process. It’s necessary work.
But it’s also:
- Repeatable
- Predictable
- And in many cases, not the highest and best use of your most valuable people
If we’re being honest, a lot of it is process work disguised as engineering.
The Real Problem
Most utilities and engineering teams are stretched thin.
They’re juggling:
- Aging infrastructure
- Increasing load demands
- Pressure to modernize and move toward a smarter grid
- A steady pipeline of new developments
At the same time, their engineers are buried in:
- Designing new subdivisions
- Placing transformers and pedestals
- Building out standard layouts
- Generating bills of materials
Important work—but not work that should consume your most valuable resources every time.
What Happens When You Flip It
What if you could take that repeatable work and systematize it? Not eliminate engineers, but reposition them.
Instead of spending hours designing another standard subdivision, your team could be focused on:
- System-level planning
- Long-term capacity strategy
- Underground conversions
- Reliability improvements
- Integrating new technologies
That’s where real value gets created.
Where Tools Come In
This is where tools like Biarri’s power design platform come into play. The goal isn’t to replace engineers—it’s to make them more effective.
Take a typical neighborhood development:
- Input the project layout or polygon
- Generate a design that includes:
- Single-phase or three-phase layouts
- Transformer and equipment placement
- Pull boxes
- A full bill of materials
- Using paper and pencil to draw this all out…
What used to take hours—or days—can now be done in minutes. Engineers shift from building designs from scratch to reviewing, validating, and refining. That’s a completely different use of time.
This Isn’t About Cutting Headcount
Let’s be clear—this isn’t about doing more with fewer people. Most teams aren’t overstaffed; they’re overwhelmed.
The goal is to:
- Reduce repetitive workload
- Increase throughput
- Allow experienced engineers to operate at a higher level
The Bigger Opportunity
The utilities that figure this out early are going to have a real advantage. Because the bottleneck isn’t demand—it’s engineering capacity.
If you can:
- Move faster on designs
- Respond quicker to developers
- Maintain consistency and quality
You win more work. You serve your members better. And your team isn’t constantly playing catch-up.
Final Thought
Subdivision design isn’t going away. But the way we approach it probably should. We have too many smart people in this industry doing work that can be streamlined.
The opportunity isn’t to replace them—it’s to elevate them.
And that’s where things start to get interesting.
A thank you to our linemen, engineers, and the admin and support staff who keep the power on every day.
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