How climate change is affecting our power grid - WREX.com

How climate change is affecting our power grid | Climate Conversations | wrex.com

As we all know, climate change has far-reaching effects on the whole world, especially here in the United States where extremes are becoming more frequent.

But there is one fundamental part of our society that is seeing a particularly heavy impact: our power grid.

According to data from Climate Central, major power outages caused by extreme weather events are becoming more common.

Major power outages are those that impact at least 50,000 homes or businesses (comparable to the size of DeKalb County) or interrupt service of at least 300 megawatts.

Four in five major outages since 2000 have been caused by weather. In the last 10 years (2014-23), the U.S. saw about twice as many weather-related outages than during the first 10 years analyzed (2000-09).

More than half of major outages nationwide were caused by severe thunderstorms, which is especially the case in Illinois.

The types of weather events causing the major power outages in the U.S. during this time breaks down this way:

- Severe weather: 58%
- Winter weather: 23%
- Tropical cyclones: 14%
- Extreme heat: 3%
- Wildfires: 2%

Illinois has seen 70 weather-related major power outages from 2000-23. Texas has seen the most at 210.

Illinois has had 70 major power outages caused by weather events. While it is far from the most, it still ranks in the top half of all states. Just across Lake Michigan, the state of Michigan had the second-most outages at 157.

The last major power outage in the Rockford area caused by weather was on the last week of July 2023, when stress from high heat and humidity combined with powerful thunderstorms.

Extended power outages have major effects on all walks of life, but especially the health of ourselves and our pets.

Power outages are especially dangerous during heat waves, playing a factor in the 1995 heat wave that killed hundreds in Chicago. Those with electricity-dependent medical equipment, such as oxygen or other respiratory devices can also face life-or-death complications during power outages.

In the August 10, 2020 derecho, parts of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, were without power for weeks after the storm. That led to some health problems, including the wasting of vital and costly insulin for diabetics and other medications that need to be kept at cold temperatures.

According to a report from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, most of the U.S. electrical grid is "built for past or current climate conditions" and is more likely to face major disruptions as weather events become stronger than what the infrastructure can handle.

There are ways that we can make our power grid more resilient and ways that we are already doing so.

So-called "smart grid" technology allows power companies to have more accurate readings on their grids' stability and detect outages quickly. According to ComEd, since those upgrades began on our local grid in 2011, the reported number of outages has gone down by over 21 million.

Even newer technologies, called "microgrids," are meant for more localized areas, such as neighborhoods, hospitals, or college campuses. They are usually powered with renewable sources such as by solar panels or wind turbines.

A manufacturing company south and west of Chicago debuted a "microgrid" earlier this month, powered entirely by solar energy, reducing emissions in an urbanized area.

Rockford Public Schools Dist. 205 has a similar solar plan in the works, opening up a learning opportunity for students on finding and taking advantage of renewable energy sources. The plan would also provide more affordable electricity to their own buildings.

While national headlines may scream doom and gloom of climate change and the effects on the U.S. power grids, efforts are already underway to keep this vital infrastructure intact, but it is important that these efforts continue.

As the fight against climate change continues, it becomes even more important to monitor our power usage. This is especially the case during extreme heat and cold waves, when it could be a matter of life and death for some.