GE Vernova to buy grid equipment maker Trench Group for $9 billion
Serguey Asael Shinder2 min readThe equipment that sits inside every substation is becoming the bigger prize for GE Vernova. Chief executive Scott Strazik told investors on 28 October, during the company's third-quarter earnings call, that GE Vernova will acquire Trench Group, a maker of high-voltage grid components, in a $9 billion deal expected to close in late 2027, Utility Dive reports.
Trench makes bushings, instrument transformers and coils and, according to GE Vernova, sells to more than 800 utility and hyperscaler customers. The deal includes roughly $5 billion of backlog and framework agreements, some running into the next decade. Trench already supplies GE Vernova with equipment for high-voltage direct-current links, and the acquisition goes into the company's Electrification segment, which sells medium- and high-voltage equipment to utilities, independent producers and large power users.
The purchase comes as the turbine side cools. Gas turbine capacity under contract rose to 122 GW from 116 GW in the previous quarter, an increase of 6 GW, after double-digit quarterly gains earlier in 2026; at the start of the year the figure was 83 GW. GE Vernova still expects at least 130 GW under contract by the end of the year and a company-wide order backlog above $200 billion by next quarter. Strazik said growth in contracted gigawatts would continue through 2027, but at a pace more like the third and fourth quarters of 2026 than the first half.
What it means
Gas turbine slots were the scarce item of the past two years; transformers, bushings and switchgear are the scarce item that every new load, line and plant needs regardless of fuel. Buying a component maker with a long backlog is a bet that grid hardware stays constrained longer than generation does. The figures come from GE Vernova's call as reported by Utility Dive; the deal still needs approvals over the next year.