Hitachi Energy and Blackstone join forces to build a leading energy services provider in North America

Hitachi Energy will acquire a minority stake in Shermco, a Blackstone portfolio company, and invest over US$1 billion to expand its global services business, strengthening grid reliability and supporting growing electrification needs across North America.

Hitachi Energy has announced a strategic alliance with Blackstone Energy Transition Partners (Blackstone) to expand and reinforce its services business, with the goal of helping customers across North America maintain the reliability and security of critical power infrastructure.

As part of the agreement, Hitachi Energy will acquire a minority stake in Shermco, a leading provider of maintenance, repair, testing, commissioning and design services for electrical equipment in the United States and Canada. Shermco was recently acquired by private equity funds affiliated with Blackstone.

The alliance brings together three key players in the energy sector:

• Hitachi Energy, a global leader in electrification and power grid technologies.
• Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager.
• Shermco, a prominent North American provider of electrical services for critical infrastructure.

Supporting the full lifecycle of critical energy infrastructure

Through this partnership, the companies aim to expand capabilities and service offerings to provide integrated support across the full lifecycle of critical energy assets, including:

• Power generation and transmission.
• Grid systems and substations.
• Data centers and digital infrastructure.
• Industrial electrification processes across multiple sectors.

The alliance is designed to help customers navigate a context of rising energy demand, accelerating electrification and growing expectations around reliability, resilience and safety of power systems.

Shermco: growth powered by new strategic partners

For Phil Petrocelli, CEO of Shermco, the arrival of Hitachi Energy as a new strategic partner alongside Blackstone marks a key milestone in the company’s expansion:

“This investment demonstrates our commitment to meeting the essential energy needs of our customers and reinforces our reputation for safety and excellence. With this backing and the additional resources, we look forward to expanding our footprint and capabilities to continue accelerating our joint growth.”

From Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, global head David Foley highlighted the strategic value of the collaboration:

“Hitachi Energy is a global leader in technology and energy, with deep digital and operational expertise. We are very pleased to partner with them to support Shermco’s growth together with Phil Petrocelli and his outstanding management team.”

Senior Managing Directors JP Munfa and Darius Sepassi of Blackstone added:

“Hitachi Energy’s investment in Shermco brings together a global electrification leader with one of North America’s leading providers of services for mission-critical electrical equipment. We are excited to work together to drive Shermco’s next phase of growth amid rapid electrification and rising energy demand.”

Over US$1 billion for global services expansion

In parallel to the alliance with Blackstone and Shermco, Hitachi Energy is investing more than US$1 billion to expand its global services business.

This plan includes:

• Development and rollout of new digital solutions, such as HMAX Energy.
• A significant increase in its specialized services workforce, with the hiring, training and certification of more than 5,000 new service experts worldwide.

With these investments, Hitachi Energy aims to strengthen its ability to monitor, maintain, modernize and optimize energy infrastructure in multiple markets, supporting utilities, industrial companies and data center operators in their transition to the “age of electricity.”

Ageing grids and the energy transition: why services are critical

Globally, power systems face mounting challenges:

• Many networks are aging, operating close to or beyond their original design life.
• A significant portion of the experienced workforce is nearing retirement.
• Rapid electrification of industry, transport and digital infrastructure is driving the need for more robust, flexible and resilient grids.

In the United States, more than 70% of transmission lines have been in operation for several decades and are approaching – or have already surpassed – their expected service life. This increases the risk of:

• Service interruptions and outages.
• Cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
• High-cost emergency repairs and reactive maintenance.

In this environment, specialized services are essential for data centers, utilities and industrial customers to:

• Maintain and modernize their infrastructure.
• Enhance the reliability and security of their power systems.
• Improve flexibility, efficiency and sustainability in the face of growing demand.