Delaney Hall

Phoenix sits inside the Western Grid, an enormous piece of infrastructure that coordinates the delivery of power to the Western states.

Every summer, thousands of people who work within the system focus on keeping electricity flowing even on the hottest days.

To do that, they plan 365 days a year.

They maintain the infrastructure.

They stack energy sources the day before and then watch screens in a quiet control room to make sure that nothing goes wrong.

All so that when the temperatures outside hit 115 degrees, you can flip a switch on your air conditioner and know that the power will be there.

With that, consider your service request resolved.

Today on the show, you heard Gretchen Bakke, author of The Grid, The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy.

You also heard Angie Bond Simpson, the senior director of resource management at the Salt River Project.

What infrastructure mystery keeps you up at night?

It could be something you use every day but don't actually understand.

The switch you flip, the wire above your head.

If you're curious how it works, we want to know.

Submit your service request by recording a voice memo with your question and emailing it to servicerequest at 99pi.org.

Remember, if you're having a gender reveal party, please don't shoot confetti into the power lines.

I'm Delaney Hall.

Infrastructure is everywhere, and we're here to help you decode it.

Service Request is a production of 99% Invisible and Campside Media.

The show is produced and fact-checked by Julia Case Levine and edited by Shoshi Shmulevitz.

Mix by Ewan Lai Tramuen.