Abstract: A power converter including a first stage, a reservoir capacitor and a second stage. The first stage converts the voltage of a primary energy source, such as a battery, to a voltage on the reservoir capacitor, which stores a large amount of energy in the form of a voltage substantially larger than the voltage of the primary energy source. The second stage converts the voltage on the reservoir capacitor to a substantially constant voltage for a load device that demands current having the form of large, short, current pulses. The cascaded converter prevents the pulsating load currents of the load device, such as a GSM power amplifier, from causing a severe voltage loss at the battery. This increases the power available from the battery and reduces loses from the internal resistance of the battery.