A windy day cuts your power. A heat wave shuts down your grid. This isn’t fiction. It is California in 2026 and it is happening all over the United States. Our electric grid is so stressed that reliability is now optional.
In this episode, Peter Brecht talks with Meredith Angwin, author of Shorting the Grid. Meredith is a chemist and researcher who explains how we engineered a fragile energy system that prizes subsidies over stability.
They unpack strange new realities like negative pricing, peak-hour instability, and the duck curve which reveals the hidden limits of solar power. More importantly, they show why low energy equals low prosperity and why nuclear baseload power might be the only path forward.
Inside the episode
How grid frequency keeps civilization poweredWhat solar curtailment payments really meanWhy natural gas remains essential for reliabilityThe disconnect between energy prices and service qualityThe pragmatic case for nuclear energyHow to discuss energy reality without polarizing politics
Timestamps
00:00 The reality of living with a fragile grid01:58 How the grid actually balances supply and demand03:03 The solar curtailment paradox07:46 Meredith’s background in nuclear and geology12:08 Defining a fragile vs stressed grid14:25 Transmission vs Distribution explained18:48 The incentives warping the renewable market21:40 Why batteries are catching fire (literally and economically)23:09 The economic argument for data centers28:10 Does crypto mining actually help the grid?32:32 Why low energy equals low wealth
Show Notes
Buy Shorting the Grid on Amazonhttps://a.co/d/5hKSJV8
Read The Electric Grandma on Substackhttps://meredithangwin.substack.com/
Meredith on Xhttps://x.com/MeredithAngwin
Meredith on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithangwin/
California Burninghttps://a.co/d/5uIYQ4b
Robert Bryce Substackhttps://robertbryce.substack.com/
The Energy Bad Boys Substackhttps://energybadboys.substack.com/
Irena Slavhttps://irinaslav.substack.com/
Keywordspower grid problems, renewable energy debate, nuclear power explained, California blackouts, energy reliability, Peter Brecht
