Owner’s representative · Power & electrical equipment
We get owners the power equipment they need, even when everyone else is quoting next year.
Protocol Partners is the owner’s representative for developers and operators building power-hungry sites. When the gear you need is backordered or priced through the roof, we know who actually has it and what it takes to get it to your site and commissioned on schedule.
The problem we solve
Where projects actually get stuck
On most projects, the thing that slips the schedule is a single piece of equipment: a transformer whose lead time doubled since you budgeted for it, switchgear that’s backordered with no real date, the one long-lead item everyone figured would just show up. By the time it’s a problem, the design is frozen and the clock is running.
That part is ours to own. We spend our days working the manufacturers, reps, and secondary market that most owners never touch, running down real availability and holding whoever we buy from to the date they gave us. When something is genuinely scarce, we usually still know a way to get it, and we’ll lay out what it costs you in dollars or in weeks.
Who we do this for
Operators who can’t afford to wait on the market
Datacenters
Everyone is building at once and the equipment market hasn’t caught up. We lock in the long-lead gear early so it isn’t the thing standing between you and a live facility.
Heavy Industrial
Retrofits and expansions usually hinge on a handful of long-lead items. We chase those down and stay on top of the install and commissioning crews so your outage window holds.
Oil & Gas
Out on remote sites, the specs are tight and there’s no patience for gear that shows up late. We handle procurement and delivery for the power and electrical scope so the field crew isn’t waiting on us.
How we work
What being your owner’s rep actually means
Owner’s rep gets used loosely, so here’s what it means with us. From the first PO to the day it’s energized, one team is accountable for the equipment and the people installing it, and that team works for you. We buy through relationships built over years, and we’re not carrying anyone’s inventory or hitting anyone’s quota. Your project is the only interest at the table.
Sourcing & vendor selection
We know who actually has availability and who can deliver when it counts, so you get solid options with dates you can plan around, picked for your job instead of somebody’s overstock.
Expediting & lead times
A PO is not a delivery date. We stay on the manufacturers, catch the slips while they’re still small, and work the problem before it turns into a hit on your schedule.
Logistics & delivery
Getting a transformer across the country and onto its pad is a project of its own. We handle the freight, storage, and timing so it lands when the site is ready for it.
Budget & schedule oversight
One set of eyes on cost and calendar the whole way through, so nothing drifts quietly while everyone’s heads-down on the build.
We can lead a specification or a full BOM with our engineering partners when a job needs it, though most clients come to us with the spec already in hand.
What we source
Every stop between the grid and your loads
If it moves power on your site, it’s in scope. We handle the equipment at every point on the one-line, and the bulk material that quietly holds up jobs when it runs short. Send us the part of your BOM that’s giving you trouble and we’ll come back with options and delivery dates you can build around.
Utility feed
Where it comes in
Transformers
Stepped up or down
Switchgear
Protected & switched
Distribution
Out to the gear
Your loads
Where it works
Power transformers & MPTs
The long-lead centerpiece of most power packages, from padmount units up to the main power transformers that gate the whole job.
Substation equipment
Breakers, switches, capacitor banks, and the protection that keeps a substation from becoming a liability.
MV & LV switchgear
Metal-clad and metal-enclosed lineups, stock or engineered-to-order, built to your one-line.
Power distribution
Panelboards, busway, PDUs, and the feeder gear that carries power the last stretch to your equipment.
Generators & backup power
Gensets, paralleling gear, and transfer switches for standby and prime power.
UPS & energy storage
Ride-through for the loads that can’t blink, and battery storage for backup or shaving peaks.
Motor control & drives
MCCs, VFDs, and controls matched to how your process actually runs.
Bulk electrical materials
Wire, cable, conduit, raceway, cable tray, strut, and busway, by the reel or the truckload.
EV & charging infrastructure
Chargers and the make-ready electrical behind them, sized for fleets and sites that are scaling up.
Build & commissioning
Managing the partners who build it
Equipment gets you part of the way. When a project needs design-build or a commissioning team, we bring in EPCs and contractors we’ve actually worked with, put the scope in writing, and stay on them so the coordination never lands on your desk. Everyone reports through us, which means when something goes sideways there’s one person to call, and it isn’t you chasing five vendors.
Design-build partners
We match EPCs to the job and hold them to the scope and the schedule, not the other way around.
Engineering & commissioning
We line up the crews who bring gear online and make sure it’s done right on the first pass.
One number to call
Vendors, EPCs, and commissioning crews all run through us. When you need an answer, it’s one call and not a scavenger hunt.
Energy optimization
Already up and running?
The other side of what we do is energy optimization for facilities already pulling serious power. We dig into how you’re buying and using it, then hand you a plan to cut the spend. We only make money when you save, so the incentive is about as clear as it gets. It runs through our separate energy practice.
$1.2B+
in power equipment delivered or in delivery
75+
projects delivered on schedules that couldn’t slip
Waiting on equipment that won’t show up on time or on budget?
That’s the whole job. Tell us what you’re building / where it’s stuck, and let us solve your problem.