US declares power grid emergency for over 60 million people
The US just declared a power grid emergency for 13 states, covering over 60 million people.
With temperatures expected to rise into the 70s and 80s Fahrenheit, creating an unseasonable spell of warm weather, prompting more households and businesses to switch on fans and air conditioning.
To keep the lights on and avoid blackouts, the Department of Energy is letting some power plants temporarily go over usual pollution limits until October 16 across Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.
Chris Wright blames previous energy policies
States like Delaware, Illinois, and Pennsylvania are affected, but regular folks don't have to do anything different right now.
The move helps ensure there's enough electricity while several plants and lines are under maintenance.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright blamed the previous administration's energy policies for leaving the grid more vulnerable to outages and argued that restrictions on coal and natural gas generation had increased reliance on intermittent renewable sources, so this step is all about keeping things running smoothly through the heat.