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Grid capacity is often withheld not for lack of generation but because of…

2026-08-06 · 16:57 UTC ·@JigarShahDC ·1 min read

Brief

Nate Walkingshaw, founder and CEO of Torus, told Jigar Shah on the Energy Empire podcast (published 2026-08-06) that much grid capacity is locked by instability — voltage swings, frequency deviations and spiking GPU/AI loads that look like an EKG — forcing utilities to keep safety margins, while Torus claims it can free up 33 GW immediately, dubbing itself “the Sudafed of the grid.”

Why it matters

Grid capacity is often withheld not for lack of generation but because of instability — voltage swings, frequency deviations, and unpredictable loads (e.g., GPU clusters spiking on/off) force utilities to hold back safety margins.

Key details

  • Nate Walkingshaw, founder & CEO of Torus, told Jigar Shah on the Energy Empire podcast (published 2026-08-06) that Torus could free up 33 GW of congested capacity immediately, calling the company “the Sudafed of the grid” and saying GPU/AI loads look like an EKG; a dispute with a utility CEO redirected the company’s strategy.
Source evidence

Grid capacity is often locked up not by a lack of power, but by instability like voltage swings, frequency deviations, and unpredictable loads (like a GPU cluster spiking on and off, which is why Walkingshaw compares it to an EKG).

Utilities have to hold back capacity as a safety margin against that volatility.

Energy Empire Podcast (@EnergyEmpirePod)

"We're the Sudafed of the grid." — Nate Walkingshaw, founder and CEO of Torus⁣
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This week, he joins Jigar and Jamie on Energy Empire to talk about the 33 gigawatts of congested capacity he says we could free up tomorrow, the argument with a utility CEO that redirected his company, why a GPU load looks like an EKG, and what AI demand is doing to the grid.⁣
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Video

— https://nitter.net/EnergyEmpirePod/status/2085347366144446667#m