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On 2026-05-10 @SlBrandin argued there should be a complex, dynamic system linking…

2026-05-10 · 21:03 UTC ·@SlBrandin ·0 min read

Brief

@SlBrandin argues regulated-utility gatekeeping has broken an otherwise natural, market-driven dynamic between wholesale generation, load, and transmission. He lays out ideal interactions — load siting for end use, generation siting for load, transmission siting to reduce congestion — and blames misaligned utility incentives for today’s gridlock and inefficient planning.

Why it matters

On 2026-05-10 @SlBrandin argued there should be a complex, dynamic system linking wholesale generation, load, and transmission so each sector influences the trajectory of the others in a phase flow.

Key details

  • He specifies ideal behaviors: load should site to best serve end use, generation should site to best serve load, and transmission should site to minimize current and future congestion.
  • He claims this coordination occurs under free-market conditions but says current transmission planning is gated by regulated utilities with incentives misaligned with consumers, creating gridlock and inefficient planning outcomes.
Source evidence

There should be a complex dynamic system at play between wholesale generation, load, and transmission expansion where all sectors of the market influence the direction of each others trajectory in the phase flow. Load siting to best serve their end use, generation siting to best serve load and transmission siting to best minimize future and existing congestion. This is naturally occurring behavior under free market conditions.

Instead we have a transmission planning paradigm gated by regulated utilities whose incentives are not sufficiently aligned with consumers thereby creating the mess of grid lock and inefficient grid planning outcomes we see today.