RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Extreme heats have left a number of states at risk of rolling blackouts, with the government turning to emergency measures as temperatures threaten residents and industries across much of the central United States.
Earlier this month, Southwest Power Pool (SPP), one of the main grid operators for the central U.S. states, issued an emergency, weather-related advisory, warning that rolling blackouts could be required if record energy demand sparked by the heatwaves continued to push power plants and its operating reserves to their limits.
In response, on July 26, The Department of Energy issued an emergency order allowing the SPP to call on additional power resources across multiple states as temperatures strain their grid and raises electricity demand. The emergency measure applies to 17 states and roughly 20 million Americans, and remains in effect through Monday, August 3.
The department estimates that over 35 gigawatts of unused backup generation are available for use, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the government was prepared to employ "every available tool to ensure Americans have continued access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy to power and cool their homes."
Newsweek contacted the Department of Energy and SPP for comment outside of regular working hours and awaits responses.
According to data cited by the Department of Energy data, power outages are estimated cost the country around $44 billion annually in 2015 dollars, or roughly $62 billion today.
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory put the figure at $67 billion per year between 2018 and 2024.
"The total annual burden on customers rose sharply over that time, with the price tag of major outages climbing to $121 billion in 2024," they wrote in a March report. "These power disruptions pose serious risks to public health and safety and drain billions of dollars from the U.S. economy."
And specific large-scale blackouts have resulted in significant economic hits. In the case of the 2021 blackouts in Texas, triggered by Winter Storm Uri, the Minnesota-based think tank American Experiment estimated that this caused between $80 billion and $130 billion in economic damage.
The Department of Energy identified 17 states that were subject to its July 26 order and considered at blackout risk, though it said the emergency measure "mitigates the possibility of power outages in the region."
Based on the size and significance of key industries in each state, Newsweek examined which could be the most vulnerable, and what the impact of a potential blackout could be like.
Artificial intelligence facilities require a huge amount of electricity and are dependent on uninterrupted power. This infrastructure has already drawn attention and concern, as residents, activists and lawmakers have raised fears over the surging electricity demand from AI development.
Major operations require backup generators and battery systems, and a prolonged regional outage could lead to a strain on emergency power suppliers. And many of the central U.S. states covered by the order—notably Texas, Arizona and Utah—are among the country’s primary data center hubs in terms of existing and planned capacity.
Electricity is an essential component in the running of food and agriculture systems, and is essential for irrigation systems, grain storage, livestock operations, food processing plants and refrigerated warehouses.
Extended outages can lead to issues including food spoilage, interrupted distribution networks and financial losses for farmers and food suppliers. Cold storage facilities in particular are vulnerable as refrigeration failures can compromise meat, dairy and produce inventories.
Electricity is a crucial component for the running of hospitals and health care facilities, and while they typically maintain backup power systems, prolonged outages present increasing challenges.
Emergency generators support critical services such as operating rooms, intensive care units and life-saving equipment. But they facilitate health care systems beyond that, including communications networks, fuel deliveries, electronic health records and climate-controlled environments.
From cell towers to internet exchanges and telecommunications hubs, modern communications infrastructure depends on reliable power
Long-duration outages can exhaust fuel supplies and reduce network capacity, and this can have far-reaching impacts, from hampering emergency response efforts to impacting businesses that depend on digital connectivity.
Another major area of vulnerability is transportation systems. Fuel terminals, rail networks, airports, traffic management systems and warehouse operations all rely heavily on electricity. Past connectivity blackouts, like the 2024 Microsoft outage, showed how chaos can be wrought when tech systems go down.
There could be wide reaching impacts of a regional blackout, including slowing freight movement, disrupting deliveries and creating supply-chain bottlenecks that could extend far beyond the affected states.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and James Debens
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