Cablegeddon: From Tangled Cords to a Universal Standard

Not long ago, many of us had bags and drawers full of mismatched cables. A charger for your phone. Another for your camera. A proprietary brick for your laptop. And at least three mystery wires you were too scared to throw away, just in case.

Travel meant cable roulette, pack the right combo or face the silent despair of a dead device. And when one inevitably vanished or mysteriously gave up, it meant yet another next-day purchase from Amazon.

Fast forward to now. USB-C quietly won. One cable almost charges everything. By the end of 2024, the EU required USB-C for phones, tablets and cameras, and Apple moved iPhone to USB-C with iPhone 15. The result is fewer chargers in the bag and simpler charging.

Why USB-C Became the Universal Charging Standard

This was not only about making life easier for travellers. It was about industries finally lining up. Regulators applied pressure, manufacturers realised fighting standards was bad business, and eventually everyone converged. The payoff: less e-waste, lower manufacturing costs, and a foundation for faster innovation. It's also better for the planet, discarded and unused chargers account for 11,000 tonnes of e-waste per year.

💡 Did you know?

• USB-C was introduced by the USB Implementers Forum in 2014.
• It is reversible, supports up to 240 W with USB Power Delivery, and can carry high-speed data depending on the cable and device. Wikipedia
• Apple’s move to USB-C on iPhone 15 aligned with the EU’s common-charger law.

Energy’s Missing USB-C

Now imagine the energy sector. Distributed energy resources are still stuck in Cablegeddon. Solar panels, batteries, EV chargers and thermostats all speak different languages. Utilities spend large sums trying to stitch them together with custom integrations. Programs like the U.S. Department of Energy’s Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange focus on faster, simpler and fairer interconnection because fragmented interfaces and processes slow adoption. Common, interoperable approaches are the fix.

Why Energy Standards Still Fail to Interoperate

To be fair, DER does have “standards.” The problem is that they do not line up neatly.

• OpenADR is useful for demand response and DER aggregation, but implementations vary by program.
• IEEE 2030.5 is promising for device-to-grid communications, with momentum in places like California and Australia, but adoption is uneven.
• OCPP dominates EV charging, but versions 1.6 and 2.0.1 are not compatible, which creates friction during upgrades.

The result: standard soup. Lots of acronyms, not enough harmony. Or put another way, we do not even have standard standards.

The Mercury Consortium is one initiative trying to change that, positioning itself as a kind of “Bluetooth-style” credential for DER interoperability, aiming to rubber-stamp devices and platforms that can truly work together.

What the Energy Sector Can Learn from USB-C

• True standards matter. USB-C worked because it was universal, not optional.
• Incentives must align. Vendors moved once USB-C made life easier and more profitable.
• Think ahead. The “USB-C of energy” must cover not just today’s devices, but tomorrow’s too, including bi-directional EVs, smart appliances and AI-driven homes.

Who Builds the USB-C of Energy?

The USB-C story shows that simplicity can be revolutionary. When energy finds its equivalent, the impact will be large: faster scaling of virtual power plants, lower integration costs for utilities, and customer experiences that finally feel seamless. The open question is who leads. Regulators can set the floor, utilities can align requirements, and tech platforms can design for interoperability first.

About the Author (Matt Wapples)

By day, Matt Wapples helps utilities and customers unlock the power of distributed energy resources. By night, he blends curiosity, logic, and a touch of chaos to make sense of technology, markets, and the future of power.

His perspective is built on deep experience across the energy and technology sector. He has worked for a utility, advised through consultancy, and helped scale distributed energy platforms internationally. Alongside this, he completed an Executive MBA at Imperial College London, adding a strategic and global lens to hands-on industry knowledge.

Beyond energy, Matt has always kept one foot in exploration and entrepreneurship. He taught scuba diving in Thailand during a year out, and ran Feiyue sneakers into Europe, securing partnerships with major retailers including Urban Outfitters.

Life and work have taken him across London, Germany, Thailand, Singapore, Tokyo, and now Atlanta. That journey has shaped a global perspective and a restless curiosity.

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