Perfect Storm: Biden Energy Policies, Supply Chain Could Mean Blackouts Across U.S.

Summer heat, shuttered power plants, and a clogged supply chain are creating a strain on the U.S electric grid, which regulators say could mean blackouts from the Great Lakes to the west coast over the summer.

This is according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a regulatory body that monitors electric grid stability.

“It’s a pretty sobering report, and it’s clear the risks are spreading,” John Moura, director of reliability assessment and performance analysis, said in a press briefing, calling it “our most cautionary tale.”

Bloomberg claimed in its reporting on the NERC’s report that climate change is partly responsible without alluding to Joe Biden’s energy policies that have shut down domestic resources, but it did admit that his policies do not align with reality.

“But the fight against global warming poses its own risks as older coal-fired plants close faster than wind farms, solar facilities and batteries can replace them,” Bloomberg reported.

“The pace of our grid transformation is out of sync,” Moura said.

Bloomberg’s report continued:

Supply-chain snags, meanwhile, are delaying Southwest solar projects and Texas transmission lines, while coal plants are having trouble obtaining fuel amid increased exports. And power grids face a growing threat of cyberattacks because of U.S. support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion, according to NERC.

Early retirement of fossil fuel plants is an issue in other parts of the US as well. The coal and natural gas plants that continue to operate are running harder, and NERC expects them to break down more often, Moura said. The gas-fired plants in Texas that shut unexpectedly late last week during a spring heat wave underscore that risk, he said.

Bloomberg reported that NERC issued a warning last year that said electric grids that serve more than 40 percent of the U.S. population were at risk of outages.

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