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Parts of the US Could Face Energy Shortages and Blackouts This Summer

Extreme summer heat increases the risk of power grid instability. Here are the regions in the US that will be affected the most.

These areas could face blackouts "under an event that is on the caliber of a once-per-decade heat wave," said Mark Olson, manager of reliability assessments at NERC. If you live in an area of elevated risk or somewhere prone to severe weather and natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes, preparing for a blackout can pay off. Note your utility's emergency number and the location of local cooling or warming stations in case an outage comes during a heat wave or cold snap.

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