Grid Lock

About Grid Lock

Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World Every system we depend on — the lights that turn on, the grid that holds steady, the infrastructure that scales with demand — is the result of hard tradeoffs engineers and policymakers make every day. Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World goes inside those tradeoffs. Hosted by Dr. Paul Moses, professor of electrical engineering, each episode brings in experts across engineering and energy disciplines to explore the pressures defining our power future: affordability, flexibility, reliability, grid resilience, versatility, capacity, and what it takes to electrify societies for the future. The conversation starts local — right here in Oklahoma — scales up to national policy and infrastructure trends, and connects to the global engineering challenges shaping how the world powers itself. www.mosesconsulting.net

Publisher

Dr. Paul Moses

Category

science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Jul 2026

Latest episode

22 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

8 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Sept 2026

   How Germany is Keeping Its Grid Stable in a Wind-Powered Future - Part II

   Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World, Part II Continuing our interview with Prof. Clemens Jauch | Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, Wind Energy Technology Institute In Part II, Prof. Jauch explains why he thinks a grid built entirely on frequency converters loses the fault current that protection systems depend on, and why some synchronous machines should stay. We cover his hydraulic flywheel research for synthetic inertia and fault-current support, the climate debate, and how pricing and demand-side management can balance a renewable-heavy grid. We also discuss Germany's plug-in balcony solar, household batteries, his early-stage research on atmospheric irrigation with wind turbines, and where the European grid is heading, including electrification, decentralization, and the roles of policymakers, utilities, and consumers. Chapters 01:02 Hydraulic flywheels for synthetic inertia and control power 01:20 Why converter-dominated grids break conventional protection 04:24 The case against 100% inverter-based generation 05:24 The variable moment-of-inertia flywheel 07:20 The physics: ½Jω² and the figure-skater analogy 09:22 Climate change and the motivation for renewables 12:07 Is the renewable transition moving too fast? 13:56 Controllability, consumer behavior, and demand response 17:58 Price signals and German utility structure 20:02 Atmospheric irrigation with wind turbines 27:42 Plug-in balcony solar and home batteries 31:36 The future European grid and rising demand 35:04 Lessons for U.S. resilience 36:23 Cooperation among stakeholders and the pace of change Part I YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK4R7u-Chck (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK4R7u-Chck) Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grid-lock/id6793708698?i=1000789917253 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grid-lock/id6793708698?i=1000789917253) Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5kn3MG8LIsAow2I3eVdXNs?si=UTpiULfQTvq1Mzy3JaSw_g (https://open.spotify.com/episode/5kn3MG8LIsAow2I3eVdXNs?si=UTpiULfQTvq1Mzy3JaSw_g) Links Prof. Jauch's page: https://hs-flensburg.de/hochschule/personen/jauch (https://hs-flensburg.de/hochschule/personen/jauch) Flywheel research video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjyUxJToI_I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjyUxJToI_I) Music: Johanna Moses Music (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXH7WkmRtzX-gt_sDcKzwFA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXH7WkmRtzX-gt_sDcKzwFA))

2. 

   16 Sept 2026

   How Germany Is Keeping Its Grid Stable in a Wind-Powered Future - Part I

   Prof. Clemens Jauch (Wind Energy Technology Institute, Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany) In this episode, Dr. Paul Moses talks with Dr. Clemens Jauch about his path from car mechanic to leading wind energy researcher, and what it takes to keep Germany's increasingly wind-powered grid stable. They cover grid congestion and feed-in management, the evolution of low-voltage ride-through requirements, and the physics behind grid frequency and inertia. Professor Jauch explains synthetic inertia in plain terms, why batteries are overtaking wind turbines as the go-to source of grid support, and how EV charging and flywheel-based storage could shape the grid of the future. They also compare notes on how AI is reshaping engineering education on both sides of the Atlantic. Chapters 00:00 Preview 00:46 Introduction to Wind Energy and Professor Jausch 03:02 Car Mechanic to Electrical Engineering 05:46 Academic Journey and Research Focus 08:16 Working at Risø National Lab, Denmark 10:59 Teaching the Next Generation in Energy STEM Fields 13:25 Challenges in Education: AI and Student Engagement 16:01 Research on Wind Turbine Control and Grid Stability 16:24 Feed-in management of wind turbines 18:56 Frequency and voltage stability: Grid reinforcement strategies 19:40 Evolution of Low-Voltage Ride Through (LVRT) requirements 20:54 The focus on frequency regulation 22:14 The concept of synthetic inertia 27:43 Utilising wind turbines as grid inertial support 31:47 Role of batteries in synthetic inertia in virtual synchronous machines 33:48 Energy arbitrage with batteries 34:46 Ancillary services for utilities 36:15 Hydraulic Flywheels and Energy Storage Solutions 37:06 To be continued Part II of this interview will be coming out soon. Prof. Jauch's Flensburg University page: https://hs-flensburg.de/hochschule/personen/jauch (https://hs-flensburg.de/hochschule/personen/jauch) Prof. Jauch's group research on flywheels - youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjyUxJToI_I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjyUxJToI_I) Music Attribution - Johanna Moses Music

3. 

   31 Aug 2026

   Power Quality: How Clean is our Electricity?

   Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World Is Your Electricity Really Clean? There's a scene from an old British sitcom where a socially anxious housewife asks the meter reader whether her electricity is "clean" — as clean as her neighbor's. This is an apt seqway into a real engineering question: what does clean power actually look like, and how would you know if yours wasn't? In this episode, Paul Moses takes a power quality meter around his own house to find out. Clamping onto USB chargers, a backup battery inverter, light bulbs, a DC power supply, and a flat-screen TV, he captures the real current and voltage waveforms these everyday devices draw — and shows just how distorted (and non-sinusoidal) modern electronics really are. Along the way: why fast-charging USB-C bricks produce different harmonic signatures than a basic 5V charger, why an incandescent bulb still exhibits better power quality than the LED that replaced it, why cheap inverters can be too distorted to trust with sensitive electronics, and why a TV — despite being a much bigger load — turns out to have one of the cleanest waveforms in the house. The episode closes with a broader look at what all this distortion adds up to at the grid level, why most utility metering still can't see it, and why that may matter more as EVs, data centers, and renewable inverters multiply. 00:27 Introduction to Power Quality 03:16 Measuring Power Quality in Household Devices 04:37 USB Devices 08:49 AC Inverter 09:52 Analyzing Inverters and Their Waveforms 10:28 Resistive Loads 10:55 Lighting 13:05 DC power supplies 13:21 TV 14:09 Observations on Voltage and Harmonics 15:09 Distortions in supply voltage 16:33 Future of Power Quality Monitoring Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: B5BZKIHAEBMV6UQ0

4. 

   17 Aug 2026

   Powering the Future: How Electric Cooperatives Are Transforming the Grid

   Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World What does it take to keep the lights on as storms, aging infrastructure, rapid load growth, and changing customer expectations put increasing pressure on the electric grid? In this episode of Grid Lock, we sit down with Nick Shumaker, Manager of System Engineering at Oklahoma Electric Cooperative (OEC) and National Chair of NRECA’s Transmission and Distribution Engineering Committee. Nick offers a firsthand look at the cooperative model and the challenges facing electric utilities—from meeting rapidly growing demand and restoring power after severe storms to modernizing aging infrastructure and deploying intelligent grid technology. We explore OEC’s use of advanced technology and its Adaptively Controlled Electric System (ACES) to accelerate restoration, the synergies between broadband services and electric grid operations, distributed energy resources, and the challenges of building new infrastructure. Nick also shares his experiences as co-founder of GridVantage, using data analytics and AI to improve utility operations, and Legally Brewed, a craft brewery built around community and entrepreneurship. We discuss the potential—and limitations—of AI in distribution system management, the future of solar, and the workforce challenges facing the energy industry. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Grid Lock and Nick Shumaker 02:52 Nick's Journey into Engineering and Cooperatives 05:43 Understanding the Cooperative Structure 09:22 NRECA and Community Collaboration 11:17 Challenges and Changes in the Utility Industry 13:33 Storm Response and Restoration 17:59 Technological Innovations at OEC 19:33 ACES Technology and Its Impact 23:07 Broadband and Community Connectivity 27:06 Distributed Energy Resources and Resilience 32:17 Aging Infrastructure: Challenges and Solutions 41:43 Challenges in Building New Infrastructure 45:29 Underground vs. Overhead Lines 51:30 Entrepreneurship and Brewing Community Connections 54:37 The Art of Beer Making 55:47 GridVantage: Data Analytics and AI 58:46 AI for Electric Cooperatives 01:01:32 The Risks of Over-Dependence on AI 01:04:48 Entrepreneurship and the Startup Landscape 01:09:27 The Future of Solar Energy 01:15:12 Addressing Energy Workforce Challenges 01:19:33 Concluding Remarks Links GridVantage: https://gridvantage.com/ (https://gridvantage.com/) Legally Brewed: https://legallybrewedco.com/ (https://legallybrewedco.com/) 123 W. Main Street, Norman, OK, USA Nick Shumaker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-shumaker-67712930/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-shumaker-67712930/) ACES – Adaptively Controlled Electric System: https://oecfiber.com/blog/aces/ (https://oecfiber.com/blog/aces/) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozvgAoduAaU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozvgAoduAaU) Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: B5BZKIHAEBMV6UQ0.

5. 

   10 Aug 2026

   Transforming the Grid: An Australian Perspective

   Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World What can we learn from Australia’s experience transforming the electrical grid? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Sara Deilami, an electrical engineering researcher at Macquarie University, to explore Australia's rapidly changing energy system and what it can teach us about the future of the grid. We discuss renewable energy, virtual power plants, and the challenges of integrating new technologies into an evolving power system. We also examine the growing impact of AI on the electrical industry, including the electricity demands of AI data centers. The conversation goes beyond technology to explore energy access in rural and regional communities, the social considerations behind sustainable energy adoption, and the importance of collaboration among engineers, industry, government, academia, and communities. Sara also shares her work on wireless power transfer for electric vehicles, along with thoughts on the future of EV charging, emerging technologies, and preparing the engineering workforce for a rapidly changing industry. We finish with a discussion about women in engineering, career development, work-life balance, and the growing challenges posed by extreme weather and natural hazards. In This Episode 🇦🇺 Australia's changing electricity system 🤖 AI and electricity demand ⚡ Renewable energy and distributed grids 🏠 Virtual power plants at home 🌏 Rural and regional energy access 👥 Social considerations in the energy transition 🚗 EV integration and wireless power transfer 🤝 Collaboration and innovation 👩🔬 Women in engineering and work-life balance 🌪️ Extreme weather and grid resilience 🔮 The future of power engineering Timestamps 02:12 — Introduction to Dr. Sara Deilami 02:49 — Journey into electrical engineering 04:14 — Industry to academia 05:09 — AI and the electrical industry 06:23 — AI data centers and electricity demand 08:25 — Australia's power system 09:21 — Renewable energy and rural communities 10:43 — Virtual power plants and home batteries 13:41 — Evolving regulations 15:52 — Collaboration among stakeholders 18:26 — Emerging energy technologies 20:54 — Pilot projects and innovation 22:19 — Wireless power transfer for EVs 26:28 — Wireless charging efficiency 28:13 — The future of power grids 32:45 — Preparing the energy workforce 35:57 — Career advice for engineers 40:12 — Women in engineering and work-life balance 44:05 — Optimism for power engineering 46:02 — Extreme weather and natural hazards 50:39 — Collaboration and sharing ideas 51:45 — The future of the energy transition 51:46 — Engineering reliable power systems Learn more: Dr. Sara Deilami — Macquarie University (https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/sara-deilami/) Dr. Sara Deilami on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/saradeilami/) Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: B5BZKIHAEBMV6UQ0

6. 

   5 Aug 2026

   Smart Grids: A reality or a dream? with Dr Paul Moses

   Smart Grids: An Unrealized Reality? For more than two decades, we've been promised a future where our homes actively participate in a smarter, cleaner, and more resilient electricity grid. Smart meters have been installed in millions of homes around the world, utilities have invested billions in grid modernization, and the term smart grid has become a staple of energy discussions. But has the average household actually experienced this transformation? In this episode, we explore whether today's "smart grid" is truly smart from the customer's perspective. We discuss why many consumers still interact with electricity much the same way they did decades ago, despite the technology already existing to do much more. Key Questions: We have the technology for smart grids but is it really implemented and used by customers? Have we changed our energy usage patterns with the roll out of smart meters? What more is needed to realize true smart grid functionality? Have smart meters fundamentally changed the way we use electricity? Why hasn't household energy management become mainstream? What technologies are already available but remain underutilized? What incentives would encourage homeowners to participate? Are we still building a smart grid—or simply collecting more data? Topics Covered What the original vision for the smart grid looked like How smart meters have changed utility operations—and what they haven't changed Why most households still consume electricity in largely the same way as before The missing link between smart meters and truly smart homes Takeaway The technology for a truly interactive smart grid largely exists today. The challenge is no longer one of engineering—it is one of economics, regulation, interoperability, and customer engagement. Unlocking the next generation of grid intelligence will require homes to evolve from passive electricity consumers into active participants that can respond to changing grid conditions in real time. www.mosesconsulting.net Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: GKPWCT4VH7TVOUQX

7. 

   27 Jul 2026

   Grid Lock: The Unequal Grid with Dr. Paul Moses

   Episode Show Notes This episode is a short overview to some of the topics we hope to touch in later in depth details. How Infrastructure Disparities Affect Power Reliability Why do some neighbourhoods get their power back in hours while others wait days after the same storm? In this episode of Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World, we explore how the design of the electric grid influences reliability, resilience, and the customer experience. We discuss the differences between overhead and underground power distribution, why restoration times vary depending on where you are connected to the grid, and the unique challenges faced by rural communities. The conversation also examines a difficult question: should customers who experience very different levels of reliability all pay the same rates? This episode looks beyond the headlines to examine the engineering trade-offs, infrastructure investment decisions, and equity challenges that utilities and policymakers face as the power system evolves. In this episode: Electrical usage patterns Disparity in infrastructure Grid Modernization Economic Realities How grid topology affects outage restoration times. The reliability challenges facing rural electricity networks. The balance between cost, resilience, and fairness in electricity infrastructure. What future grid investments could mean for customers. Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World explores the engineering decisions behind the infrastructure we depend on every day, bringing practical discussions with experts from across the energy industry. Connect with Dr. Paul Moses: www.mosesconsulting.net Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: JA5BI0DBAHXMMZIM

8. 

   22 Jul 2026

   The State of the Grid: Intro to Grid Lock Dr. Paul Moses

   I'm Dr. Paul Moses, an electrical engineer, educator, and researcher. Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World Every system we depend on — the lights that turn on, the grid that holds steady, the infrastructure that scales with demand — is the result of hard tradeoffs engineers and policymakers make every day. Grid Lock: Engineering for the Real World goes inside those tradeoffs. Each episode brings in experts across engineering and energy disciplines to explore the pressures defining our power future: affordability, flexibility, reliability, grid resilience, versatility, capacity, and what it takes to electrify societies for the future. The conversation starts local — right here in Oklahoma — scales up to national policy and infrastructure trends, and connects to the global engineering challenges shaping how the world powers itself. www.mosesconsulting.net (http://www.mosesconsulting.net) In this episode I discuss the overview of the state of the grid. In recent years, we are seeing a rapid escalation in the amount of electrical energy we use Affordability, even here in Oklahoma which is touted to be one of the lowest cost of living states, is still not immune to electricity price growth Utilities are also in a bind; grid modernization Legacy equipment The impact of new energy consumers; data centers Power system planning has always been a top-level down endeavor – key decisions made at the federal, or boardrooms of power corporations – and seldom or very little input from the communities.  Indeed a bottom-up approach is more sort after in stakeholder engagement, the general public in entering the discussion. These are important decisions, and will have lasting repercussions in everyone, costs of living, our children and grandchildren’s prospects and thinking 22nd century. – Remember, it takes many years, sometimes decades to planout and start building major infrastructure. I look forward to continuing these important conversations over the series of episodes in the podcast Grid Lock. Thank you for listening!

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Contact Grid Lock

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.