Switched On Wired for the Future: Reinventing the US Power Grid
Oct 1, 2025
Ethan Zindler, head of country and policy research at BloombergNEF, leads an insightful discussion with Paige Crahan from Google X, Michael Skelly of Grid United, and Frank Kreikebaum from Smart Wires. They delve into the urgent challenges facing the US power grid, exploring innovative solutions like systems thinking and machine learning for optimization. Michael highlights the need for interregional connections, while Frank showcases technology to enhance existing infrastructure. The conversation underscores the balance between future demands and current capabilities in energy transmission.
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Grid Needs Systems Thinking
- Tapestry treats the electric grid as a single, massive system needing coordinated technological and ML-driven fixes.
- Paige Crahan argues we must build smarter, not just more, to double global grid capacity fast.
Building Interregional Superlines
- Grid United pursues big interregional transmission lines to better connect the Eastern, Western and ERCOT grids.
- Michael Skelly describes acquiring rights, permits and coordinating millions of stakeholders to build those links.
Unlocking Latent Transmission Capacity
- SmartWires installs substation hardware to reroute flows and unlock latent capacity on existing lines.
- Frank Kreikebaum notes networks often run at ~30% average utilization even at peak, so rerouting yields big gains.