Connor
@waldoch.bsky.social
founder / markets / strategy @ gridstatus.io
Energy and other stuff. Some coding, some reading. Graphs and maps, birds and sports
Energy and other stuff. Some coding, some reading. Graphs and maps, birds and sports
Pinned
Connor
@waldoch.bsky.social
Β· Apr 20
the weather is nice, so we are back in the bird zone π§΅
all taken in a kayak with a canon r6 mk2 and the RF 800mm f11
I use a waterproof flyfishing bag from fishpond for the camera, but it's still a fraught endeavor
first up, some osprey action
#birds
all taken in a kayak with a canon r6 mk2 and the RF 800mm f11
I use a waterproof flyfishing bag from fishpond for the camera, but it's still a fraught endeavor
first up, some osprey action
#birds
I have also been working on something today that claude has certainly struggled with
I gave it some leeway in spots and it returned extremely incorrect results, but it's a complicated endeavor with massive amounts of context, so I settled into me feeding very specific followup documents to refine
I gave it some leeway in spots and it returned extremely incorrect results, but it's a complicated endeavor with massive amounts of context, so I settled into me feeding very specific followup documents to refine
February 6, 2026 at 1:41 AM
I have also been working on something today that claude has certainly struggled with
I gave it some leeway in spots and it returned extremely incorrect results, but it's a complicated endeavor with massive amounts of context, so I settled into me feeding very specific followup documents to refine
I gave it some leeway in spots and it returned extremely incorrect results, but it's a complicated endeavor with massive amounts of context, so I settled into me feeding very specific followup documents to refine
we've been working through an interesting paradigm where non-technical, but SME people can put up a PR with a new app or something internally, but it is not up to public snuff and also touches way more of the code base than necessary
the mental shift has been to treat those like nice whiteboarding
the mental shift has been to treat those like nice whiteboarding
February 6, 2026 at 1:39 AM
we've been working through an interesting paradigm where non-technical, but SME people can put up a PR with a new app or something internally, but it is not up to public snuff and also touches way more of the code base than necessary
the mental shift has been to treat those like nice whiteboarding
the mental shift has been to treat those like nice whiteboarding
"can't we just do this and ask for forgiveness later?"
an actual thing I once heard
an actual thing I once heard
February 2, 2026 at 10:52 PM
"can't we just do this and ask for forgiveness later?"
an actual thing I once heard
an actual thing I once heard
true, with the grid gone those natural gas power plants are gonna struggle to break even on their fuel costs
February 2, 2026 at 3:06 AM
true, with the grid gone those natural gas power plants are gonna struggle to break even on their fuel costs
wow, I had no idea the grid worked like that
February 2, 2026 at 3:01 AM
wow, I had no idea the grid worked like that
TETCO, one of the biggest and most critical pipelines isn't some natural process, it was federally-funded for WW2 and then sold
it's a bit hard to square path dependency related to one of our largest (war effort as a % of GDP) periods of expenditures ever as the inherent cheapest and best thing
it's a bit hard to square path dependency related to one of our largest (war effort as a % of GDP) periods of expenditures ever as the inherent cheapest and best thing
February 2, 2026 at 3:00 AM
TETCO, one of the biggest and most critical pipelines isn't some natural process, it was federally-funded for WW2 and then sold
it's a bit hard to square path dependency related to one of our largest (war effort as a % of GDP) periods of expenditures ever as the inherent cheapest and best thing
it's a bit hard to square path dependency related to one of our largest (war effort as a % of GDP) periods of expenditures ever as the inherent cheapest and best thing
it would suck compared to a pipeline if we were physically moving electrons at the speed of compressed gas molecules and there was no storage, but that is not the case
February 2, 2026 at 2:57 AM
it would suck compared to a pipeline if we were physically moving electrons at the speed of compressed gas molecules and there was no storage, but that is not the case
in one of those scenarios you are moving actual molecules, I know that you know, fundamentally, as an EE, that this is just physically not the case for the grid
I get that this has become your bugaboo the last few years, but it remains a bizarre comparison, electricity != physical molecules
I get that this has become your bugaboo the last few years, but it remains a bizarre comparison, electricity != physical molecules
February 2, 2026 at 2:57 AM
in one of those scenarios you are moving actual molecules, I know that you know, fundamentally, as an EE, that this is just physically not the case for the grid
I get that this has become your bugaboo the last few years, but it remains a bizarre comparison, electricity != physical molecules
I get that this has become your bugaboo the last few years, but it remains a bizarre comparison, electricity != physical molecules
This is crazy of course, but it would be nice if it somehow resulted in fixing the mess of roads around the Kennedy Center that make it weirdly inaccessible
If you donβt live here you probably donβt know what a weird spot it sits in
If you donβt live here you probably donβt know what a weird spot it sits in
February 2, 2026 at 1:26 AM
This is crazy of course, but it would be nice if it somehow resulted in fixing the mess of roads around the Kennedy Center that make it weirdly inaccessible
If you donβt live here you probably donβt know what a weird spot it sits in
If you donβt live here you probably donβt know what a weird spot it sits in
Print turned out great ππ‘
January 31, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Print turned out great ππ‘
itβs at the end of a joke thread, but I love these charts and got to come up with new variants when I was there in 2012
www.flickr.com/photos/23215...
www.flickr.com/photos/23215...
January 31, 2026 at 2:40 PM
itβs at the end of a joke thread, but I love these charts and got to come up with new variants when I was there in 2012
www.flickr.com/photos/23215...
www.flickr.com/photos/23215...
people who would also absolutely refuse to believe that Europe was far, far ahead of us on rural electrification, well after we invented the grid
January 31, 2026 at 3:06 AM
people who would also absolutely refuse to believe that Europe was far, far ahead of us on rural electrification, well after we invented the grid
The El (CTA) is bigger and has more service hours, but it is always nice to come home to newer trains and smoother service on the Metro (WMATA)
Of course, that really wasnβt the case when we moved here π«£
Of course, that really wasnβt the case when we moved here π«£
January 30, 2026 at 10:43 PM
The El (CTA) is bigger and has more service hours, but it is always nice to come home to newer trains and smoother service on the Metro (WMATA)
Of course, that really wasnβt the case when we moved here π«£
Of course, that really wasnβt the case when we moved here π«£
I just accept whatever Merlin says π
January 30, 2026 at 3:44 AM
I just accept whatever Merlin says π
not just the order, but in short, ya
one dataset for a look at this in PJM's projected area statistics at peak, Dominion is short, ComEd is way over scheduled for their internal demand
www.gridstatus.io/datasets/pjm...
one dataset for a look at this in PJM's projected area statistics at peak, Dominion is short, ComEd is way over scheduled for their internal demand
www.gridstatus.io/datasets/pjm...
January 27, 2026 at 5:28 PM
not just the order, but in short, ya
one dataset for a look at this in PJM's projected area statistics at peak, Dominion is short, ComEd is way over scheduled for their internal demand
www.gridstatus.io/datasets/pjm...
one dataset for a look at this in PJM's projected area statistics at peak, Dominion is short, ComEd is way over scheduled for their internal demand
www.gridstatus.io/datasets/pjm...
Off to Chicago for the week and since trains were running a bit slow I did some station hopping in downtown DC by foot
city streets covered in snow with almost no cars around is always a top urban experience
city streets covered in snow with almost no cars around is always a top urban experience
January 26, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Off to Chicago for the week and since trains were running a bit slow I did some station hopping in downtown DC by foot
city streets covered in snow with almost no cars around is always a top urban experience
city streets covered in snow with almost no cars around is always a top urban experience
prices were low or negative in ComEd for a chunk of today, not from energy, but the congestion price
I don't think that congestion exists if I-ISO or ComEd in MISO, so the prices would certainly be higher
looking at an iconic node, it's negative congestion doing all the work
I don't think that congestion exists if I-ISO or ComEd in MISO, so the prices would certainly be higher
looking at an iconic node, it's negative congestion doing all the work
January 26, 2026 at 4:29 AM
prices were low or negative in ComEd for a chunk of today, not from energy, but the congestion price
I don't think that congestion exists if I-ISO or ComEd in MISO, so the prices would certainly be higher
looking at an iconic node, it's negative congestion doing all the work
I don't think that congestion exists if I-ISO or ComEd in MISO, so the prices would certainly be higher
looking at an iconic node, it's negative congestion doing all the work
lmk if you have any questions
January 26, 2026 at 4:24 AM
lmk if you have any questions
Reposted by Connor
Jan. 25 Update on PJM Cold Weather Operations https://insidelines.pjm.com/pjm-issues-precautionary-alerts-ahead-of-expected-cold-spell/
January 25, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Jan. 25 Update on PJM Cold Weather Operations https://insidelines.pjm.com/pjm-issues-precautionary-alerts-ahead-of-expected-cold-spell/
there was a nice bit on that development from the FERC whitepaper on seams coordination last fall
January 25, 2026 at 8:34 PM
there was a nice bit on that development from the FERC whitepaper on seams coordination last fall
it's not just the lines themselves that are susceptible to ice accumulation, trees have a heck of a lot more surface area to deal with
www.facebook.com/share/v/1FEF...
Tennessee newscaster sharing video of icy trees sparking power lines.
Tennessee newscaster sharing video of icy trees sparking power lines.
January 25, 2026 at 5:40 PM
it's not just the lines themselves that are susceptible to ice accumulation, trees have a heck of a lot more surface area to deal with
flying out of DC tomorrow let's goooooo
(πππ)
(πππ)
January 25, 2026 at 4:07 PM
flying out of DC tomorrow let's goooooo
(πππ)
(πππ)