Jan 11, 2023 · 25m · green-blueprint
The great electrician shortage
Emily Pontecorvo · 8m spoken Stephen Lacey · 5m spoken Boren Reyes · 2m spoken Panama Bartholomy · 1m spoken David Pitt · 1m spoken Alejandria Tomas · 1m spoken Champori Rith · 1m spoken Laura Jean Davignon · 34s spoken
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
This episode investigates the critical shortage of licensed electricians threatening the United States' clean energy transition, examining the educational bottlenecks, contractor training constraints, and cultural stigmas holding back workforce growth.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 3.0 Guest teaching 2.8 Guest disagreement 0.0 The hosts pushing back 0.2
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 10:30 Bartholomy challenges cultural disdain for trade careers
Bartholomy rejects the standard societal push directing youth toward four-year college and coding rather than well-compensated physical trade work.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 17:43 Lacey synthesizes and verifies the bottleneck dynamicLacey pauses the narrative flow to rigorously lay out the entire circular dilemma from homeowner demand down to instructor shortages.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 18:40 Pontecorvo explains union residential limitations and labor standardsPontecorvo breaks down why union electricians do not dominate residential retrofits and how public policy labor standards could level competitive wages.
The host holds their own ▶ 4:26 Lacey contextualizes policy with carbon dataLacey substantiates the electrification conversation with specific carbon emission shares from transportation and building fuel use.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homeowner Champori Rith's Experience Upgrading Electrical Infrastructure | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Lacey sets up the premise of the episode while Pontecorvo introduces homeowner Champori Rith's tape on the friction of upgrading residential electrical panels. | |
| Stephen Lacey's Renovation Experience and the Macroeconomic Labor Gap | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Lacey cites emissions statistics from residential fossil fuel use and transportation to highlight urgency, while Pontecorvo presents contractor Boren Reyes explaining the labor shortage and training bottlenecks. | |
| The Aging Workforce and Cultural Stigma Against Vocational Careers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Lacey and Pontecorvo collaboratively examine the cultural bias against vocational education and the aging workforce demographic, supported by clips from Panama Bartholomy. | |
| David Pitt's Journey and the Threat to Community College Electrical Programs | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | This segment is a reported narrative monologue featuring audio from student David Pitt describing the faculty shortage crisis at Laney College. | |
| Faculty Hiring Challenges in Trade Education at Laney College | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | Lacey synthesizes the systemic workforce bottlenecks and prompts discussion on solutions, while Pontecorvo details union dynamics, IRA funding mechanisms, and contractor resistance. | |
| Rebranding the Trades and Inspiring a New Generation of Electricians | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Lacey and Pontecorvo discuss public relations and cultural messaging strategies needed to recruit younger demographics into electrical trades. |
Statements from this episode (14)
Berkeley Banned Natural Gas in New Construction in 2019
“Berkeley, California, was the first city in the country to ban gas in new buildings, and that was back in 2019.”
Up to 70% of US Homes Need Electrical Panel Upgrades
“There's this nonprofit, Rewiring America, and they estimate that something like 60 to 70% of homes in the U.S. Are going to need to upgrade their electrical panels in order to accommodate solar or new electric appliances.”
Home Fossil Fuel Use Accounts for 10% of US Emissions
“Transportation is almost a third of U.S. Carbon emissions, and burning fossil fuels at home is another 10%.”
Boys Electric Halts Emergency Service Calls Due to Labor Shortage
“So we're not taking emergency calls anymore because we don't have the main power.”
On-the-Job Apprentice Training Cuts Into Electrical Contractor Profits
“Because it's not just a matter of, hey, yeah, let me hire people, and then, because you have to go with them through training, and so it might take you a month to two months for them to be ready to finally go out on the field, know how to interact with custome…”
Contractors Cannot Hire Experienced Electricians Because Everyone Is Employed
“That is correct. That is correct. Cause all the people that currently know how to do the work, they're currently busy. I mean, if they're currently taken by other companies and then now they're getting paid really, really good.”
The Average US HVAC Installer and Plumber Is 55
“You know, the average age is 55 right now for an HVAC installer or a plumber.”
Bay Area Electricians Earn a Median Salary of $90,000
“The median salary for an electrician in the Bay Area is about 90,000 dollars, and a lot of people make six figures.”
Bay Area Electrical Training Program Nearly Collapsed After One Retirement
“In the Bay Area, this birthplace of Electrify Everything, the place to take electrical training classes is a school called Laney College, and the program there almost collapsed when one of the teachers retired this year.”
Community College Electrical Training Classes Are Packed With Students
“But yeah, those rooms are packed too. I mean, the classes had 40 students in them. The Zoom meetings are just jam packed. A lot of people are trying to get this training.”
Trade Programs Struggle to Hire Instructors Because Industry Work Pays More
“Employees usually earn more when they work in the field than they are in teaching. So it's hard to recruit for faculty members to our area. I think it's just made worse in EET because there's a shortage of electricians in the Bay Area.”
Non-Union Wage Competition Pushes Union Electricians Out of Residential Work
“Right now, union electricians, they don't really do that much work on houses because they're undercut by non-union electricians who can pay their workers less.”
Panama Bartholomy: California Will Ban Gas Appliances Within Seven Years
“California's gonna be banning this stuff in seven years, so start the transition now when there's a lot of money and incentives going.”
Electricians Can Earn as Much as Engineers and Outearn Teachers
“Showing showing how much money they can make, that, that is just the key. Because they can make just as much as, you know, an engineer. They can make more, you know, than a teacher. They can make more than You know, a person that will spend their time, you kno…”