Input Stories

While the power grid performed relatively well during the January snowstorm given the severity of the weather, persistent power outages still highlight the need for greater investments in grid resilience (The Wall Street Journal, subscription).

• The response to the storm also showed that a flexible, all-of-the-above energy strategy is the way to keep America’s power on and businesses running. 

What’s going on: During the event, “Americans cranked up the heat, posing the biggest test of the electric grid this season. … Grid operators and utilities from the Midwest to New England to Florida managed tighter supplies and issued varying levels of alerts—but avoided rolling blackouts.”

• The “weak points” were at smaller distribution lines and poles that bring electricity to cities and neighborhoods.
• In the South—where ice accumulated, weighing on power lines—hundreds of thousands of people lost power.
• Approximately 8,000 customers were still without electricity as of Monday.

The importance of “all of the above”: “The U.S. leaned on fossil fuels to get through the storm,” particularly in New England, where natural gas generation and imports from Canada and New York usually account for a large share of the power supply.

• During periods of extreme cold, plants in the region “can switch to oil instead,” which they did during this most recent storm.
• Natural gas and coal use also surged.
• This pattern reinforces a longtime policy position of the NAM’s—that the U.S. needs a variety of abundant energy sources, as no one source can meet all needs at all times.

Resilience in action: Though Texas didn’t see the bitter cold other states saw, its “grid faced its most serious winter challenge since a 2021 disaster, when power blackouts contributed to the deaths of more than 200 people.”

• Thanks to some recent changes, Texas’ grid has indeed become more resilient. “Some plants now store extra fuel on site in case natural gas supplies become constrained. Battery-storage projects, which largely weren’t around in 2021, can also help during brief periods of stress on the system.”

What it should spur: Manufacturers—who use one-third of U.S. energy—have long urged lawmakers to support measures that strengthen and modernize the U.S. electrical grid.

• Just this week, the NAM released “Building to Win,” its updated policy blueprint for infrastructure improvement, in a highly publicized national campaign.
• Among its recommendations: that the federal government must work with states and localities on the buildout of new electric transmission and distribution lines.
• “Manufacturers need modern, reliable infrastructure to create more jobs, grow our economy and keep America competitive,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons in a statement on the launch.