Why grid reliability, affordability, and national security are colliding.

What breaks first?

Wilson Rickerson, President and Co-founder of Converge Strategies, joined the hosts of Open Circuit — Jigar Shah, Stephen Lacey, Caroline Golin — to explore grid resilience through a national security lens.

Listen to Wilson explain why thinking about the grid in a wartime context leads to familiar priorities: flexibility, transmission expansion, regional markets, and better coordination. Key themes from the conversation include:

  • Grid Reliability Under Stress. Why evolving threats — from extreme weather to geopolitical tensions — are testing the limits of U.S. power systems.

  • National Security Implications. How modern military operations depend on resilient civilian energy infrastructure and why safeguarding that infrastructure is a strategic priority.

  • Lessons From History. Reflecting on historical conflicts to draw actionable lessons about grid coordination and infrastructure investment.

  • Converge Strategies’ Contributions. Wilson references Powering the Fight: Lessons from the Grid at War and its implications for today’s resilience planning.