Extreme weather and aging power grids make the perfect recipe for widespread blackouts. Resolving it with clean energy isn’t as easy as you think.
By Evelyn Long, editor-in-chief of Renovated
Power outages are increasingly becoming common worldwide, disrupting people’s daily lives, disconnecting communication channels, challenging business resilience and testing emergency service accessibility. What makes them alarming is that they are not caused by simple supply and demand issues. The scary reality is that they result from climate extremes on top of vulnerabilities in aging energy infrastructure.
The Recent Power Outages As Wake-Up Calls
The most effective wake-up call is often the one no one sees coming, yet it disrupts millions. Widespread outages are fast becoming nature’s warning signals.
The Spanish Blackout
In April 2025, a sudden and unexplained blackout plunged much of peninsular Spain into chaos. Millions were affected as substations in Granada, Badajoz and Seville failed, causing a loss of 2.2 gigawatts in generation capacity. Although initial speculation pointed to a cyberattack, it was later confirmed as a technical failure.
Just before the outage, a spike in wind energy coincided with France halting its usual electricity imports, likely after detecting irregularities. This created an imbalance, triggering automatic shutdowns at Spain’s few nuclear facilities. Solar output also mysteriously dropped from 18,000 megawatts to 8,000 megawatts despite no change in weather.
Some early reports linked the event to a rare temperature swing potentially influenced by climate change. Spain’s grid operator, Red Eléctrica, dismissed this as the primary cause, though it may have contributed to the overall instability.
The incident exposed vulnerabilities in Europe’s energy infrastructure. It underscored that the push toward 100% renewable energy, while admirable, cannot succeed without technical safeguards and a diversified energy mix. A stable grid requires a mix of energy sources and better coordination.
More broadly, the blackout is not an isolated case but a symptom of a global trend. Regions are experiencing recurring and widespread outages driven by aging infrastructure and intensifying climate events.
Power Outages Across the United States
In the United States, severe weather events caused about 80% of major power outages from 2000 to 2023. Hurricanes, ice storms, heat waves and wildfires have repeatedly overwhelmed local grids.
The largest blackout in U.S. history followed Hurricane Maria in 2017. The Category 4 storm devastated Puerto Rico’s grid, resulting in 80% of the island losing electricity, some for nearly a year. Not even a decade later, the island has suffered repeated outages. The most recent event in April 2025 left 1.4 million consumers without power and 400,000 without water due to a failed transmission line.
In the mainland U.S., wildfires in January 2025 left much of California without power, which affected 400,000 homes and businesses. Severe drought continues to fuel uncontrollable blazes across Los Angeles. Growing concern over climate change has altered weather patterns, causing reduced rainfall and high temperatures that lead to water shortages and, in turn, wildfires. California’s fire seasons have prompted shutoffs, where utilities preemptively cut electricity to prevent ignition from power lines, affecting millions.
In May 2025, severe storms swept across Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh, winds reaching 71.3 miles per hour downed trees and power lines, leaving over 400,000 homes without electricity and resulting in three deaths.
These events reflect the growing tension between environmental pressures and infrastructure limitations. The surge in energy demand — from electric vehicles (EVs), electrification and digital technologies — further strains outdated systems unprepared for today’s climate realities.
Climate Change Is Driving More Power Outages
The climate crisis is reshaping weather patterns worldwide. These changes directly affect the stability of power systems in multiple ways.
1. Extreme Weather Events Are More Frequent and Intense
Hurricanes, floods, heat waves and wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate change. These events physically damage power lines, transformers and generation plants.
- Storm damage: High winds and floods uproot trees and poles, knock down lines, and flood substations. In fact, the U.S. has experienced a 74% surge in storm-related power outages over the last decade. During Hurricane Beryl, flooding caused significant damage to infrastructure in Texas, leading to prolonged blackouts. A week after the storm passed, 88,000 CenterPoint Energy consumers remained without electricity.
- Heat waves and cold snaps: A warming planet brings longer, hotter heat waves. A climate update predicted there’s a 40% chance of a 1.5 degree Celsius increase in global temperatures, causing spikes in electricity demand as people rely on air conditioning. Conversely, sudden cold snaps can freeze natural gas pipelines and disrupt power generation. The Great Texas Freeze in 2021 left millions without heat when it shrouded the state for over a week.
- Wildfires: Electrical equipment has been linked to sparking destructive wildfires in fire-prone regions. To mitigate this risk, utilities often shut off power during dry, windy conditions, intentionally causing outages.
2. Intermittent Renewable Energy Poses Operational Challenges
One key solution to address climate change is transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy. However, this shift is complex due to the challenge of managing electricity from diverse sources.
Solar and wind production rely on weather conditions, which can fluctuate unpredictably. Cloudy skies or windless days can cause intermittent output, and surplus electricity during peak periods is costly to store due to limited capacity at many facilities. Ensuring uninterrupted supply requires advanced grid coordination and effective energy storage systems.
Another hurdle is the efficiency of photovoltaic technology. Currently, most commercial solar panels convert only 15% to 20% of sunlight into usable electricity. While innovation may improve this rate, it also necessitates better handling of excess power to prevent grid strain or wasted output due to insufficient storage.
3. Rising Demand Compounds Strain on Grids
The EV boom is seen as a solution to lessen the transportation industry’s greenhouse gas emissions, which is the largest direct contributor at 28%. However, the electrification of this sector also means increased grid reliance, which further raises demands.
The electrical grid we know today was designed decades ago without anticipating the sudden surge in electricity usage. As a result, it struggles to handle modern loads, especially if extreme weather further compounds the issue. This can lead to overloads, outages, equipment breakdowns and damage to the infrastructure itself.
Excess strain may also cause cables and transformers to overheat and degrade, resulting in voltage fluctuations that further destabilize the system. A gradual, well-planned transition to cleaner energy is essential to avoid overwhelming the grid and triggering widespread disruptions.
Power Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
While climate change intensifies risks, the root problem often lies in the power infrastructure’s physical state and limited capacities.
Aging Equipment Increases Failure Risks
The U.S. power grid began in 1882, when Thomas Edison launched the first power plant at Pearl Street Station, supplying electricity to just 59 customers. Much of today’s system still relies on similarly aged infrastructure that is over half a century old. Their components degrade over time, making them more vulnerable to breakdowns.
Extensive Infrastructure Lags Behind Electrification
Rising electricity consumption across sectors such as transportation, data centers, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency drives the urgency of upgrading the power grid. Cleaner energy sources also require infrastructure enhancements to meet increasing demand despite their variable output, which contrasts with the grid’s traditionally stable supply.
However, modernizing the system demands significant upfront capital and a long-term strategy. An estimated shortfall of $14.3 trillion by 2050 complicates progress, and the pace of grid development is three to seven times slower than the rollout of renewable installations and electric vehicle charging stations.
In the U.S., over 160,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines connect 7,300 power plants, yet regular maintenance and system upgrades remain inconsistent. This aging framework lags behind the expansion of clean technology and delays in essential improvements obstruct progress. Older wiring and poles are also more susceptible to storm damage and can collapse under falling trees.
Expensive Upgrades Delays Modernization
Burying transmission lines can reduce weather-related disruptions, but this approach remains costly and difficult to implement. Meanwhile, vegetation control is uneven, and regrowth each season poses recurring risks. In California, utilities face the challenge of balancing wildfire mitigation through preemptive shutoffs while minimizing consumer inconvenience.
Spain’s recent outage, triggered by failures at major substations, highlights the broader global struggle to maintain and upgrade critical infrastructure.
The Impacts of Increasing Power Outages
The consequences of power failures extend beyond inconvenience. They affect individuals, communities and economies in profound ways.
Homeowners and Residents
Blackouts disrupt daily life and compromise well-being. A sudden loss of electricity can shut down heating and cooling systems, posing serious health threats during extreme temperatures.
In recent years, research has shown that heat waves have lasted 49 days longer compared to earlier decades. Prolonged heat exposure during the day may lead to exhaustion or heat stroke, while studies show that hot nights can increase the risk of stroke by 7%, particularly among older women. Conversely, extended exposure to cold can be dangerous. If core body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit, hypothermia becomes a serious concern.
Long outages also raise the risk of food spoilage, potentially causing gastrointestinal illness if contaminated items are eaten. Those who rely on medical equipment that requires power face heightened vulnerability during such events.
Power surges may damage electrical devices when service is restored, especially if precautions aren’t taken. It’s important to operate electric-powered devices correctly during the outage to avoid further harm.
Businesses and the Economy
Due to operational downtime, businesses suffer significant revenue losses during power outages. Industries heavily dependent on electricity, such as data centers, healthcare and manufacturing, are particularly affected.
In addition to lost income, outages can result in corrupted files in data facilities, interrupt patient care and render electronic medical records inaccessible, potentially delaying or canceling procedures. In manufacturing, a loss of electricity can halt production lines, disrupting the broader supply network.
Market volatility may also trigger sudden spikes in demand for items like flashlights, battery-operated radios, first aid kits and emergency food. These shifts, combined with interrupted logistics, can strain the availability and delivery of essential goods.
Preparing for and Responding to Power Outages
While systemic solutions are essential, individuals and businesses can take practical steps to mitigate the impacts of power failures:
- Investing in backup: Homeowners and businesses can install generators or battery storage systems, ideally paired with renewable sources like rooftop solar, to maintain essential power during outages. Smart transformers can also help save 3.83 kilojoules of energy across the country over the next three decades.
- Upgrading home energy systems: Transitioning from gas to electric appliances, especially when combined with solar panels, can improve resilience and reduce carbon footprint. Some smart home technologies can also detect power outages and notify users.
- Being prepared and informed: Familiarize yourself with local utility protocols, emergency alerts and power restoration procedures. Keep flashlights, batteries and nonperishable food supplies handy within the household. Keeping in contact with neighbors and local services helps support vulnerable community members during outages.
Upgrade Infrastructure to Withstand a Warming World
Power outages have become a growing concern in regions around the world. Extreme weather intensifies the fragility of aging electrical infrastructure, making modernization more urgent than ever.
These disruptions often stem from environmental degradation, yet addressing them is complex and expensive. While shifting to cleaner energy is essential in combating climate change, it can also place additional pressure on already strained systems.
A careful, coordinated transition is required, aligning investments in renewable sources with upgrades to energy networks, supported by collaborative efforts from governments and utilities to protect those most at risk — the people.