Chicken, War Of Attrition
The Interconnection Standoff
The Interconnection Standoff is a Chicken and War Of Attrition scenario. The core lesson: When nobody will pay for the grid upgrade, the project that needs the grid most is the one that blinks first. A wind developer has waited years in the grid operator's interconnection queue. Connecting the project requires a network upgrade, and the incumbent utility insists the newcomer pay the full cost. DecisionPlay maps the players, payoffs, and equilibrium dynamics that shape how this situation typically resolves.
The situation
A wind developer has waited years in the grid operator's interconnection queue. Connecting the project requires a network upgrade, and the incumbent utility insists the newcomer pay the full cost. The developer believes the upgrade benefits everyone on the system and should be shared. Each month of delay burns money and edges the project toward its financing deadline. The utility feels no such clock. You advise the developer as the queue window narrows and the two sides stare at each other over who pays for the wires.
Background
Interconnection is where clean energy projects go to wait. The upgrade a single project triggers often relieves congestion for many others, which is why cost allocation is contested: assign it all to the newcomer and marginal projects die, socialize it and incumbents cry foul. The party with the tighter clock has the weaker hand, because delay is a cost it feels and the other side does not.
What this reveals
The clock is the weapon
Interconnection standoffs look like fights about money, but they are really fights about time. The side that feels delay as a cost carries the weaker position, because the other side can simply wait. Recognizing who holds the clock tells you who will eventually pay.
How to counter it: Change the game before you enter it. Line up allies who need the same upgrade, attach deadlines to any concession, and never let your financing clock be the only clock in the room. Structure, not stubbornness, wins these.
A question to sit with
When have you paid more than your share simply because you were the one who could not afford to wait?
Frequently asked questions
- What game theory concept does The Interconnection Standoff illustrate?
- The Interconnection Standoff illustrates Chicken, War Of Attrition. When nobody will pay for the grid upgrade, the project that needs the grid most is the one that blinks first.
- What is the situation in The Interconnection Standoff?
- A wind developer has waited years in the grid operator's interconnection queue. Connecting the project requires a network upgrade, and the incumbent utility insists the newcomer pay the full cost. The developer believes the upgrade benefits everyone on the system and should be shared.
- What does The Interconnection Standoff reveal about how people decide?
- The clock is the weapon. Interconnection standoffs look like fights about money, but they are really fights about time. The side that feels delay as a cost carries the weaker position, because the other side can simply wait. Recognizing who holds the clock tells you who will eventually pay.
- How do you avoid the trap in The Interconnection Standoff?
- Change the game before you enter it. Line up allies who need the same upgrade, attach deadlines to any concession, and never let your financing clock be the only clock in the room. Structure, not stubbornness, wins these.
- What is the research behind The Interconnection Standoff?
- Interconnection is where clean energy projects go to wait. The upgrade a single project triggers often relieves congestion for many others, which is why cost allocation is contested: assign it all to the newcomer and marginal projects die, socialize it and incumbents cry foul. The party with the tighter clock has the weaker hand, because delay is a cost it feels and the other side does not.
- How long does The Interconnection Standoff take to play?
- About 10 min, at core difficulty, across 3 decision points. It runs in your browser with no account and no sign-in.
Keep exploring
More Sustainable Energy scenarios, or browse all scenarios. New to this? Start with how DecisionPlay works or the game theory glossary.
Topics: sustainable-energy, interconnection, cost-allocation