The EPA says they intend to shut down more coal-fired plants and block more natural gas operated power plants from being constructed and this is the result.

As summer rolls in with warmer temperatures, large portions of the U.S. are at a higher risk of blackouts, a new report warns. 

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a nonprofit grid watchdog, released its latest summer reliability assessment Wednesday, and it shows what past seasonal and long-term assessments have shown — America’s grid operates on the thin margins of reliability. Anytime inclement weather hits — heat waves or cold snaps — increased demand on the grid puts large parts of the U.S. at risk of blackouts. 

From the Midwest, New England, to California and Louisiana, according to the assessment, the risk of blackouts during heat waves this summer is rising. The risk of emergency conditions in Texas, according to the assessment, will hit 18% this summer, and the risk of rolling blackouts is 14.6%. 

Most of the capacity of coal-fired plants, Just the News says, can or has been filled with gas-powered plants. But it makes no sense to block construction of more gas powered plants since renewable energy would be used in their place but sources, like wind and solar, cannot adequately provide for people’s energy needs. However, that isn’t to say at some point natural gas plants won’t be next at some point.

The EPA’s actions shutting down power plants overall are already starting to rile people up, inspiring opposition from places that will be most affected.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which represents nearly 900 nonprofit rural electric cooperatives and public power districts, called the rules “unlawful, unrealistic and unachievable.” 

Duke Energy, which serves 8.4 million customers in the Carolinas,Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, told Fox News that the rules will limit the utility’s ability to serve future demand as new manufacturing and data facilities are built in the areas. 

“The final rule presents significant challenges to customer reliability and affordability, as well as limits the potential of our ability to be a global leader in chips, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing,” Kaitlin Krishner, Duke Energy spokesperson, told Fox. 

PJM, which serves 14 states in the east-central U.S., also warned of increasing problems as loads on the grid rise. 

“The EPA has not sufficiently reconciled its compliance dates with the need for generation to meet dramatically increasing load demands on the system,” the utility said in a statement. 

This is typical. As someone observed, as Biden gets closer to his deadlines, watch them either vanish or the goalposts moved. In the meantime, many people’s lives are ruined with either rolling blackouts or higher energy bills. But the damage is ultimately intentional since the Biden administration could obviously does not care about the consequences of their actions.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay