Yeah, Hannah, we are already starting to feel
the effects of summer with heat waves in texas and
California sending temperatures soaring and that could spell trouble for
the nation's power supply. There are new concerns about
power shortages and many areas of the country this summer
, the central part of the U. S.
Is particularly vulnerable, California and other western states could
also see outages. The two main causes heat and
droughts, temperatures drive up demand straining power grids.
Extreme heat can also affect power lines and transformers now
to droughts. Low water levels make hydroelectric power less
reliable. That could be a big problem in Western
states, especially in California which is in the grip
of a historic drought with reservoirs and rivers at an
all time low droughts also lead to wildfires which can
damage power grids maintenance and the closure of older power
plants is adding to the problem. Many states have
been building solar and wind farms but experts say they
are not being built fast enough. Federal officials are
even warning of possible plan rolling blackouts in the central
part of the country this summer to take some strain
off power grids. Now get this texas texas is
expected to break its all time record for power demand
this week. And unfortunately the hottest days of summer
are still ahead. Power companies are asking customers to
turn their thermostats up or off to help keep the
lights on