# Navigating the electricity gauntlet

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2023-08-17
- Length: 50m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-08-17-navigating-the-electricity-gauntlet

## Summary

Andy Lubershane, partner and head of research at Energy Impact Partners, joins Shayle Khan to discuss the 'electricity gauntlet,' where surging power demand from data centers, battery manufacturing, and EV charging collides with supply chain bottlenecks and regulatory hurdles. They analyze how the flatlining of electricity demand over the past two decades is ending, driven by new industrial loads like green hydrogen and generative AI, which are straining utility capacity. The conversation highlights critical short-term challenges, including a severe shortage of electrical transformers, interconnection queues, and the need for microgrids and carbon-future-proofed gas generation to bridge the gap until renewable firming technologies scale.

## Chapters

- [5:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-08-17-navigating-the-electricity-gauntlet#t=305) Introduction: The Flatlining of Electricity Demand
- [10:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-08-17-navigating-the-electricity-gauntlet#t=636) Demand Side: Data Centers and Industrial Electrification
- [20:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-08-17-navigating-the-electricity-gauntlet#t=1239) Demand Side: Green Hydrogen and Distributed Loads
- [28:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-08-17-navigating-the-electricity-gauntlet#t=1688) Supply Side: Generation Constraints and EPA Regulations
- [33:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-08-17-navigating-the-electricity-gauntlet#t=2002) Supply Side: The Transformer Shortage and Grid Equipment
- [38:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-08-17-navigating-the-electricity-gauntlet#t=2308) Solutions: Microgrids and Future-Proofed Gas

## Topics

- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Energy Impact Partners (company)
- Bloom Energy (company)
- Energy Hub (company)
- EPA (company)
- Plug Power (company)
- IRA (other)
- Chips Act (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [All Heat, No Useful Work](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2026-05-25-all-heat-no-useful-work) (The Amp Hour)
- [EP 186: Mobile Bottlenecks, Skyrocketing AI CapEx, and the Compute Crunch](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2026-08-03-ep-186-mobile-bottlenecks-skyrocketing-ai-capex-and-the-compute-crunch) (The Circuit)
- [Renewable Energy Policy with Ari Gerstman](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-05-02-renewable-energy-policy-with-ari-gerstman) (The Amp Hour)
- [Industrial Digital Transformation with Aravind Yarlagadda, Chief Digital Officer at Eaton](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2023-08-17-industrial-digital-transformation-with-aravind-yarlagadda-chief-digital-officer) (Over the Air)
- [Aligning Passion With Purpose: A Journey to Electrification and Sustainability](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2025-06-17-aligning-passion-with-purpose-a-journey-to-electrification-and-sustainability) (Moore's Lobby)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-08-17-navigating-the-electricity-gauntlet. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.