Power outages and brownouts become growing concern as state electricity grids struggle against heatwaves and record-breaking high temperatures

Extreme heat early in the summer season is putting a question mark on the strength of the electricity and power grids across the country.

The risk of power outages increases as the temperature increases. People use air-conditioning units and fans to try to keep their homes and offices cooler as the weather warms.

According to a May report from the non-profit North American Electric Reliability Corporation, there is a high risk of energy emergencies in the Upper Midwest.

We've been doing this for a long time. NERC's director of reliability assessment and performance analysis told CBS that this is probably one of the grimmest pictures they have painted in a while.

Several states would experience a rise in the heat index in June, according to a report. This will cause a surge in power usage for states like Texas.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state's power grid, in a May news release asked residents to conserve power by avoiding usage of large appliances and setting their thermostat to at least 78 degrees during peak hours.

The Texas power grid was vulnerable to winter storms in 2020 and 2021, leading to deadly power failures. According to CNBC, the focus is on how the country's infrastructure has been affected by heat waves and fires.

Although Midwestern states are considered high risk by NERC, the West Coast is also near dangerous territory: California, Arizona, and Nevada are classified as elevated risk. According to CBS, power companies are not able to replace old generators fast enough.

Residents in Cleveland have complained of brownouts when electricity demand is higher than the amount produced. Cleveland Public Power blames the outs on hot weather.

After a heat advisory was issued last week, the city began to provide cooling centers around the city. Chicago and Detroit have both used cooling centers as a way to fight the heat.

—ClevelandPublicPower (@clepublicpower) June 16, 2022

Problems with the power grid can be caused by extreme weather conditions. Thousands of people have gone without power in the last few years because of tornadoes, floods, and storms.

Brandon Miller said that climate change is increasing the intensity of heat waves around the world.