The U.S. energy grid is facing a massive challenge. Between rising blackouts, the power demands of data centers, and the shift toward home electrification, demand is skyrocketing and pushing 2-5x higher on a system that was designed decades ago. In fact, a recent study showed that only half of American distribution circuits currently have enough open capacity to handle new power sources. That leaves utilities looking for ways to add capacity while maintaining reliability and keeping costs manageable for customers.
The traditional way to fix this is effective but painful. It involves physically replacing poles, restringing wires, and building new substations, which costs millions per circuit and takes years to finish, putting additional pressure on utility budgets and customer affordability.
At Cubit, our mission is to invest in companies that confront foundational problems with meaningful, scalable solutions. This is exactly why we are thrilled to partner with Switched Source.
The team exemplifies the courageous leaders we look for in an investment. Switched Source founders Charles Murray and Lane Nelson met at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and realized they had the perfect combination of skills to tackle this infrastructure bottleneck. By combining Charles’ deep power systems engineering expertise with Lane’s operational rigor, they built a solution that offers a pragmatic alternative to the slow, expensive status quo.
The Solution: A Smart Traffic Cop for Electricity
Rather than waiting for new construction, Switched Source’s Phase-EQ device optimizes what is already there. It acts like a "smart traffic cop" for the grid, dynamically rebalancing power flows to unlock capacity on existing lines.
Here is why this approach is catching the attention of major utility players like National Grid and NextEra Energy:
Unlocked Potential: The device autonomously rebalances power to open up 10-20% more capacity.
Speed to Value: It can be installed in 3 months without interrupting service—a stark contrast to the 1-3 years required for traditional upgrades.
Significant Savings: 6-10x cheaper than traditional reconductoring alternatives.
From Concept to Scale
Switched Source’s technology is proven, having logged over 120,000 runtime hours across eleven states with greater than 99% uptime. And this reliability is already converting into programmatic growth. After validating the technology in a pilot phase, National Grid is now moving forward with a $15M program.
By modernizing our electric infrastructure 6x cheaper and 3x faster than the status quo, Switched Source is delivering a tangible fix to a massive problem, which is exactly the kind of meaningful solution that defines our mission at Cubit.