Part 1 — The Electric Grid Is Changing Faster Than We Can See
- Romita Biswas
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
01/20/2026
Part 1 — The Electric Grid Is Changing Faster Than We Can See
Vlog:
Cue Backstory - why this series exists and what a study of the DC grid taught us
Last fall, when we presented to our regulators on accelerating adoption of renewable energy in DC, something clicked for us in real time.
We didn’t just show some pretty maps and talk technical jargon. We showed how both sides of our distribution grid’s supply–demand equation are changing in real time…
On the demand side, the distribution grid is getting hit with a wave of new permission-less DERs that significantly alter how and when people consume electricity. On the supply side, we still don’t model how solar generation changes with the sky, or how modern inverters and batteries make solar super safe by actively regulating that movement.
During our presentation there was a collective realization that wow… we are so far behind, that we’ve been circling these symptoms like interconnection delay and costs but hadn’t yet named or quantified this fundamental issue..
The issue is our tools still assume the sun shines the same all day, inverters are just boxes on the wall, and batteries only charge from the grid or extra solar. Both sides of the system now move with each second — yet we continue to treat the grid as if it’s a still picture on the sunniest day of the year.
People are worried about rising electricity prices.
People for the most part want to electrify their homes.
People want rooftop solar, balcony solar, batteries, heat pumps, induction—everything.
But the system serving them—the actual distribution grid in their neighborhoods—is still operating with the same level of visibility it had decades ago. It’s trying to support a completely different world using tools designed for a static, predictable, one-way flow of power - from large power plants to residents.
And here’s what hit me after that presentation:
We are asking for the grid to evolve faster than it can see. Literally.
Our distribution system doesn’t have real-time situational awareness.
It doesn’t see when solar energy is being produced.
It doesn’t see how much juice a home battery has left.
It doesn’t see a smart home platform pre-heat a home when prices are low.
We need real visibility into the grid. Yet we’re skipping steps trying to build and enforce policy around the assumption that it should be able to support all this…blind. (This is the mismatch I want to explore.)
The Hosting Capacity Study was never just about figuring out how much solar could be put on the grid. It was a slice of a much bigger story.
The grid is getting more dynamic:
Consumers are becoming more empowered.
Local power generation is becoming more safe.
Batteries are making the unpredictable controllable.
And utilities are being judged on problems they can’t see—and don’t yet have the tools to manage.
This series is my attempt to stretch that moment into a broader narrative about where the grid is headed, and what it will take for utilities, regulators, and homeowners to move from conflict to cooperation.
Because here’s the main takeaway:
Homeowners already have the tools to participate. But the utility doesn’t yet have the visibility to let them.
When homeowners have solar, plug in batteries, and flexible appliances, they suddenly have the ability to choose how and when they pull electricity from the grid. And once that becomes widely adopted, then you move whole cities up and down to avoid high prices and get that net savings for the people. But for the utility to safely support these new choices—without overbuilding infrastructure or slowing down adoption—it needs real-time visibility into what’s happening on its system.
Not yearly studies. Not aggregated load curves. Not stitched-together billing data.
Actual situational awareness. As it happens.
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This blog series is about what that shift looks like—and why it’s the missing piece to unlocking homeowner flexibility, lowering costs, and building a more modern, fair, and aware grid.
Next up in Part 2: How We Got Here - The Old Grid vs The New Grid
