Climate Concerns Hit The Grid

Severe weather events driven increasingly by climate change, which is caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, are on the rise, says a report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers and the Department of Energy. The leading cause of grid-related power outages is weather-related events, the report says, noting that between 2003 and 2012 the annual damages resulting from these events ranged from $18 billion to $33 billion. During this period, 679 power outages occurred that affected more than 50,000 people. The report warns that the aging grid will make Americans more susceptible to future weather-driven outages. It recommends greater investment in grid modernization, more aggressive implementation of new grid technologies, and more efforts to make the grid more flexible and robust. The report adds that utilities should harden their infrastructure to prepare for flood, wind, and other weather-related damage, but it does not propose more government spending for such efforts.