U.S: power outages could become deadly for major cities suffering from heat waves

A Phoenix power outage amid a heat wave could possibly kill thousands, study says A heat wave combined with a power blackout in Phoenix could kill thousands and send half the city to the emergency room, a study says. Is Phoenix prepared? Kate Selig Washington Post

...Two-thirds of North America is at risk of energy shortfalls this summer, particularly during periods of extreme demand, according to a report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

Meanwhile, 108 million Americans are under heat alerts as unforgiving temperatures bake much of the Lower 48. In addition to the Southwest, where temperatures could climb as high as 130 degrees, the nation’s three most populous states — California, Texas and Florida — are facing triple-digit temperatures. The magnitude and duration of the heat is setting records.

“We can call [the scenario identified in the paper] overly dramatic, but we’re breaking local and global heat records every day now it seems, so we have to take it seriously,” said Michael Webber, a professor and energy expert at the University of Texas at Austin. In Phoenix, he said, the grid is “robust,” but the stakes for failure are high.

The study’s researchers simulated what would happen if the residents of Phoenix, Atlanta and Detroit were struck by a heat wave and a complete blackout that lasts 48 hours before power starts to be incrementally restored. The outcomes were deadly in all three cities, but the results for Phoenix were particularly striking, where almost everyone in the city relies on air conditioning to weather extreme heat. The study predicted that about half the population would require emergency department care and about 13,000 would die.

“Phoenix has a resilient electrical grid, there’s no doubt about it,” Stone said. “But they really haven’t prepared sufficiently for that low-probability but very high-impact event.”

Stone warned that climate change increases the likelihood of the nightmare scenario the paper examined. Heat waves are anticipated to become more intense, frequent and prolonged. Meanwhile, power grids will face increased demand for electricity during the summer months while being stressed by extreme weather, such as heat waves, hurricanes and wildfires.

Since 2015, the number of major blackouts — power outages lasting more than an hour and impacting more than 50,000 customers — have more than doubled, according to the study. Electric grid failures likely contributed to hundreds of deaths and thousands of emergency department visits during the historic 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave, the study said.

Ashley Ward, the director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University, said the study is “valuable” and captures the magnitude of the impact of heat. She noted that the study does not take into account humidity when estimating health outcomes, which she said could worsen the number of ER visits and deaths in Gulf Coast and Southeastern cities.

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