Multistate Blackout Could Cost America Billions: Here's What's Most at Risk
Summary
Extreme heat has caused a risk of rolling blackouts in 17 central U.S. states, affecting about 20 million people. The Department of Energy issued an emergency order to allow extra power resources to prevent outages as electricity demand rises.Key Facts
- The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) warned of possible blackouts due to high energy use during heatwaves.
- The emergency order, active until August 3, covers 17 states including Texas, Arizona, and Colorado.
- Over 35 gigawatts of backup power are available to help meet demand.
- Power outages cost the U.S. economy about $62 billion a year, rising to $121 billion during major events.
- Large blackouts, like the 2021 Texas outage, caused economic damage estimated between $80 billion and $130 billion.
- Critical sectors at risk include data centers supporting artificial intelligence, which need steady power.
- Food and agriculture systems rely on electricity for irrigation, storage, processing, and refrigeration.
- The emergency order aims to reduce blackout risks and keep power reliable during the heatwave.
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