Too hot for the electric grid to handle?
The heat wave scorching large swaths of the country is stressing out the aging electric grid, threatening rolling blackouts when people need air conditioning most.
To help keep ACs humming, the Trump administration is allowing some fossil fuel power plants in the Southeast to exceed pollution limits. While not an unprecedented move during emergencies, it marks a big contrast with other solutions that have emerged in recent years — such as Texas' reliance on solar power to get through heat waves.
President Donald Trump's strategy to lean on fossil fuels creates a feedback loop: The more natural gas and coal are burned for energy, the more carbon pollution enters the atmosphere. This pollution helps warm the planet — requiring more electricity to cool people off.
And without long-term planning for clean, reliable backup power, the short-term need to beat the heat dominates. That's why Energy Secretary Chris Wright authorized Duke Energy to run some power plants in the Carolinas at maximum output as temperatures approach 100 degrees, writes Jeffrey Tomich.
'Americans should not be forced to wonder if their power grid can support their homes and businesses,' Wright said in a statement.
The heat dome is bearing down on much of the eastern U.S., from northeast Texas to New England, driving triple-digit heat and humidity in some areas. Scores of cities are under heat advisories, and more than 40,000 customers in several New York City boroughs lost power earlier this week as the temperatures stressed the local electric grid.
Extreme heat is the leading weather-related cause of death in the country, killing more U.S. residents each year than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined, federal data shows. And it's not an equal-opportunity killer. In addition to directly causing dehydration or heat stroke, extreme heat can also worsen underlying health conditions.
Research shows that already vulnerable populations, such as those without permanent housing, are more likely to have chronic conditions such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Lack of access to AC, medical care or nutrition only worsens the problem.
Hotter days also mean higher utility bills. The summer heat is expected to drive up residential electricity bills by about 3 percent to an average of $178 per month, according to an analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That number could be even higher if temperatures continue to soar, EIA noted.
It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.
Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: James Bikales breaks down why the Senate parliamentarian rejected certain provisions of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee's portion of Trump's megabill and what that means for its prospects.
Power Centers
Science agency booted from HQThe National Science Foundation has been kicked out of its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, to make space for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, write Robin Bravender and Ellie Borst.
Where NSF employees will go next, they don't know. HUD Secretary Scott Turner announced the takeover today at a new conference, but offered no insights about where NSF employees would be relocated. He said his agency was moving in to start a new 'golden age.'
Trump's newest plan to kill EPA grantsThe Trump administration is taking the unusual step of trying to cut funding and eliminate programs it dislikes by using routine administrative actions, write Jean Chemnick and Miranda Willson.
The goal is to block billions in Environmental Protection Agency grants that the Biden administration had signed binding contracts to pay. But some scholars say Trump's mechanism is legally dubious at best.
'Their bureaucratic jujitsu is impressive, but it's also illegal,' said Jillian Blanchard with Lawyers for Good Government.
How a little green law set off a political explosionThe European Commission set off a political cluster bomb last week when it suddenly declared it was killing a relatively minor rule on corporate greenwashing, writes James Fernyhough.
The announcement came two days after the center-right European People's Party, the largest force in the European Parliament, sent a letter to the commission saying it wanted the law dead. That has fueled a growing sense among the center-left bloc that the right wing is controlling not just Parliament, but also the commission.
In Other News
June is the new July: Why intense summer heat is arriving earlier.
$80 million, few rules: Louisiana's energy efficiency 'slush fund.'
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The Trump administration plans to fast-track permits for deep-sea mining, despite warnings from conservation groups that too little is known about delicate ecosystems deep underwater.
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from freezing funds for electric vehicle charging stations in 14 states, a suspension that has become a flashpoint in Trump's bid to choke off congressionally approved spending.
The White House and automakers are scrambling to adjust to China's tightening of restrictions on rare earth elements — a growing choke point in Trump's trade war.
That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
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