Four Keys to Building a Great Grid Modernization Team

Updated 07/02/2025

Modernizing our power grid has become increasingly important as electricity demand rises, largely due to the explosive growth of data centers. U.S. electricity consumption in 2024 reached an all-time high, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts it will continue to rise in 2025 and 2026. In response, the U.S. federal government is investing billions of dollars to make sure our power grid can maintain reliability, resilience, and security.

So, what does this mean when building your grid modernization team? How should you better prepare your company and teams to grow over the next couple of decades?

Grid modernization is a complex process requiring a team with diverse skill sets to succeed. We know building these teams can be challenging, but it is crucial to get it right to ensure the successful implementation of modernization initiatives. So let’s dive into some insights that can help you hire the right people for your team.

Understanding Grid Modernization

To quote the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), “The electric grid is more than just generation and transmission infrastructure. It is an ecosystem of asset owners, manufacturers, service providers, and government officials at Federal, state, and local levels, all working together to run one of the most reliable electrical grids in the world.”

But that reliability is at risk as the critical infrastructure ages, especially as electricity demand and consumption increase. Much of the U.S. electric grid was initially built in the 1960s and 1970s. While there have been many improvements over the years, now is a critical time to modernize the grid. For example, more than 70 percent of transmission lines are over 25 years old. And with 600,000+ miles of transmission lines across the country, there’s a lot to modernize!

There are multiple benefits to grid modernization:

• Improved grid resilience
• Protection against cyberattacks
• Lessened dependence on fossil fuels

But to get there, energy and utilities companies need to build grid modernization teams.

Why Building a Strong Grid Modernization Team is Important

To build a solid and effective grid modernization team, it’s integral to understand the different types of roles needed and their significance in the process.

Here are some key roles that you may already have or are looking to add:

• Project Manager: lead and manage the overall modernization project, ensuring it is completed on time, within budget, while meeting all objectives.
• Electrical Engineer: design, develop, and test electrical equipment and systems, ensuring they are reliable, efficient, and safe.
• Data Analyst: collect and analyze data to identify patterns, trends, and insights to inform decision-making and optimize grid performance.
• Cybersecurity Specialist: develop and implement security measures to protect the grid from cyber threats and ensure critical infrastructure security.
• Field Technicians: install, maintain, and repair equipment in the field, ensuring it is functioning correctly and meeting performance standards.

There are hundreds of other positions that also play important roles on grid modernization teams’ ability to design, plan, and implement initiatives.

Each role plays a critical part in building a solid grid modernization team, so it’s essential to carefully consider each position and how they fit into the overall project. With a diverse and skilled team, grid modernization projects can be completed successfully, improving the reliability and efficiency of our power grids for years to come.

But how do you build a great team?

Tips for Hiring a Successful Grid Modernization Team

Through our professional services division, Evergreen, we know how to build and manage teams—including in the grid modernization and utilities space. We’ve worked with some of the largest utility companies to help them accomplish their mission-critical initiatives.

Building a successful grid modernization team takes intention and an investment from all levels of the company, from leadership to the employees executing plans. Here are tips to help you build a strong team:

Look For a Good Culture Fit

Are the people you’re hiring on the same page with your company goals? Candidates who fit well with the team culture and values can aid the team’s success and longevity.

Such candidates are more likely to be engaged, productive, and willing to suggest new ideas.

To evaluate cultural fit, hiring managers can use behavioral questions during interviews, arrange team interviews, and provide candidates an opportunity to interact with potential colleagues. Also, hiring managers should clearly communicate the team’s culture and values during the hiring process to ensure that candidates thoroughly understand what is expected.

Technical Skills are Important, but Not Everything

When it comes to building a successful grid modernization team, technical skills are essential. But don’t make the mistake of assuming that they’re the only factor to consider. A candidate with excellent technical skills may struggle to fit in with the team or communicate effectively.

So, when assessing technical skills, it’s paramount to look at other factors, such as:

• ability to collaborate
• willingness to learn
• adaptability to change

To assess technical skills, you can use various methods such as testing, reviewing a candidate’s past work experience, and asking them specific technical questions during the interview.

Look for Candidates with Strong Communication and Collaboration Skills

Finding individuals with strong communication and collaboration skills is crucial to building a successful grid modernization team. These skills are necessary to ensure that everyone works smoothly and effectively.

Simply evaluating a candidate’s communication and collaboration skills during the hiring process and not focusing on it afterward is insufficient. Provide ongoing training and development opportunities that can help team members continuously improve these skills. Examples of such activities include team-building exercises, evaluation periods (for both employees and management), and regular check-ins to ensure everyone works well together. By prioritizing communication and collaboration, grid modernization teams can work more efficiently and achieve better results.

Sometimes, it’s not always about what someone knows—it’s just as important to implement and discuss it effectively.

Seek Out Innovative Thinkers

Staying current with new ideas and solutions in this field is crucial to meeting the industry’s ever-changing needs. Hiring individuals with innovative thinking skills is essential to keeping your team’s ideas and solutions fresh.

Prioritizing innovative thinking during the hiring process can help ensure your grid modernization team remains at the forefront of the industry. To assess a candidate’s innovative thinking skills, interviewers can ask open-ended questions that challenge candidates to think creatively. Additionally, interviewers can look for past evidence of innovation in the candidate’s work experience or ask for examples of unique solutions they have developed.

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Related: 12 Strategic Interview Questions

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Modernizing the Grid with Insight Global and Evergreen

Technical skills are vital but not the only factor to consider when hiring. Building a solid grid modernization team involves considering various factors beyond technical expertise. Hiring managers should prioritize hard skills and soft skills such as communication and collaboration as well as innovative thinking.

We can help build you a great team. Don’t forget to let us know your needs below.