{"id":338,"date":"2026-05-30T12:13:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T12:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338"},"modified":"2026-05-30T12:13:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T12:13:44","slug":"the-u-s-power-grid-isnt-one-big-machine-its-three-thats-a-problem-for-blackout-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338","title":{"rendered":"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In 2021, a fierce winter storm left millions of Texans without electricity and water for days. Hurricane Helene in 2024 knocked out power to about 5 million customers across the U.S. Southeast.<\/p>

Read more Nvidia CFO Colette Kress: \u2018AI is no longer a nice-to-have\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Beyond the immediate human and economic toll, major blackouts like these often leave behind the same unsettling contrast: One region goes dark while nearby places still have power.<\/p>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

This raises a question: If electricity is still available somewhere nearby, why can\u2019t it be sent where it is needed most?<\/p>\n\n

\"Two<\/figure>\n
Hurricane Helene left much of Georgia in the dark for several days starting in late September 2024. The satellite image on the left is a normal August night in the Atlanta region. The one on the right shows the same area on Sept. 28, 2024. Lauren Dauphin\/NASA Earth Observatory<\/figcaption>\n

There has to be a wire into the crisis<\/h2>\n

The U.S. bulk power system is not one seamless national grid, but three major grid regions known as interconnections \u2013 the Eastern, Western and ERCOT \u2013 Electric Reliability Council of Texas \u2013 systems. There are very few transmission lines between them, so if one has too little power, the others may not be able to help much.<\/p>\n\n

\"Map<\/figure>\n
There are few links between the U.S. Eastern, Western and ERCOT interconnections. ERCOT<\/figcaption>\n

That limited connectivity made the 2021 Texas blackout far more severe: As the storm knocked out gas lines and power generators, ERCOT was forced into the largest deliberate electricity shutoff in U.S. history. Operators cut power to millions of customers to avoid a total grid collapse.<\/p>\n

More than 4.5 million Texans lost power, and hospitals across the state struggled with electricity and water shortages. At that time, the total power ERCOT was able to import could cover only about 6% of the demand.<\/p>\n

Today, there are proposals to build more transfer capacity between Texas and neighboring grids. The Southern Spirit Transmission project, announced by the Department of Energy in 2024, would include a 320-mile transmission line connecting Texas with Louisiana and Mississippi. According to the DOE, the project could during periods of high demand and extreme weather. If this line had existed in 2021, it could have reduced the scale of the power losses by roughly 15%, enough to keep electricity flowing to 600,000 additional Texas homes during peak demand.<\/p>\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n
Pattern Energy is developing the 320-mile Southern Spirit Transmission line to connect Texas\u2019 power grid and the Southeastern transmission grids for power sharing. <\/figcaption>\n

The wire has to survive the disaster<\/h2>\n

That physical constraint on where power can flow begins with how the U.S. grid is organized.<\/p>\n

At the broadest level, it is divided into the three independent interconnections. Within those larger networks, multiple regional grids can share power with one another. But moving electricity across them still depends on the availability of transmission paths.<\/p>\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n
Seven major regional grid operators within the U.S. interconnections help manage power flows, electricity markets and reliability, typically across multistate regions, but they don\u2019t cover all of the area. In large parts of the Northeast, Southwest and Southeast, independent utilities generate and transmit their own power without a formal power market structure. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission<\/figcaption>\n

Extreme weather can damage transmission lines and substations, making it impossible to bring in additional electricity.<\/p>\n

Hurricane Ida showed why this matters.<\/p>\n

In August 2021, all eight transmission lines feeding New Orleans were damaged by the storm and knocked out of service. That left the whole city without normal grid power and set the stage for a recovery that took weeks in some of the hardest-hit areas. Across the wider network, the storm also disabled 216 substations and more than 2,000 miles of transmission lines. When the main lines for electricity are broken, nearby power cannot flow in.<\/p>\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n
Hurricane Ida crumpled a huge transmission tower carrying high-voltage power lines into New Orleans in August 2021. AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert<\/figcaption>\n

The answer to bolstering power grids is not just to build more high-voltage transmission lines. It is also important to harden the transmission corridors that already exist so they can withstand extreme weather and be restored more quickly after a disaster.<\/p>\n

In New Orleans, that is already shaping investment. Entergy New Orleans, the city\u2019s main electric utility, has an accelerated grid-hardening plan that aims to replace existing utility poles with more fortified poles to withstand higher winds and selectively move some lines underground in high-risk areas. The first phase, scheduled through 2026, covers about 63 miles of power lines at a cost of $100 million.<\/p>\n

At the federal level, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has required transmission providers to report how they assess risks to transmission assets, how those risks affect system operations and how they plan to reduce them, including under extreme heat and cold.<\/p>

Read more TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett is trying to fix America\u2019s broken retirement system<\/a><\/p>\n

The hidden regulatory rules for sharing power<\/h2>\n

When the power goes out in one area, a nearby grid may look fine and keep its own lights on, but that does not mean its surplus power can be easily shared. Federal standards to have enough electricity available in reserve to serve their own local homes and businesses safely. In plain terms, only excess electricity above that safety threshold can realistically be treated as power available to help neighboring grids during an outage.<\/p>\n

Decisions also have to be made quickly, and the logistics for sending power from one company begins. The grid facing power shortages must know which sources will send extra power, which lines can carry it and what to do if the transfer creates overloads elsewhere.<\/p>\n

used by PJM, which coordinates electricity flows across large parts of the Midwest and mid-Atlantic region, says operators are expected to act immediately when their power demand exceeds the supply to stabilize the grid. If the shortage lasts too long, protective systems begin disconnecting parts of the grid to stop a wider collapse. Once those systems are disconnected, even power that arrives later may no longer reach the areas where it is needed most.<\/p>\n

Neighboring grids to the rescue<\/h2>\n

In early September 2022, a brutal heat wave pushed California\u2019s power grid to the brink. On Sept. 6, the state hit an .<\/p>\n

That same evening, when the system was most strained, a crucial lifeline of about flowed in from neighboring areas. This massive external support met 12.5% of the local demand, successfully maintaining the power supply for millions.<\/p>\n

Analyses after the heat wave confirmed what had averted the crisis. The California Independent System Operator, that \u201cimported electricity from neighboring balancing authorities played a key role in maintaining system reliability\u201d during those critical hours.<\/p>\n

Crucially, this rescue relied on established sharing agreements. Beyond prescheduled transfers, CAISO reported that power generators in the Western Energy Imbalance Market \u2013 a system launched in 2014 to help Western power systems share electricity in emergencies \u2013 dynamically .<\/p>\n

That event proved how having real-time, cross-regional coordination mechanisms already in place can ultimately save a grid under siege. Similar arrangements already exist elsewhere in the United States. PJM and MISO, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, have a process for scheduling electricity flows when the regions know help will be needed. Utilities in the Southeast use an exchange platform to trade power closer to the time it is needed.<\/p>\n

While different regions use different designs, the broader lesson is the same: Outside help is most likely to work when the grid has a usable transmission path, spare electricity to share and a system for moving that power before the emergency begins.<\/p>\n

Yan Wen, a postdoctoral research scientist in electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee, contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sufan Jiang, Research Scientist, University of Tennessee; Nanyang Technological University and Fangxing Fran Li, Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Tennessee<\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.<\/em><\/p>

Read more Gen Z is rejecting $200 dates and choosing \u2018solo-maxxing\u2019\u2014and dating apps are taking a hit<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"The<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/figurlazyload><\/figurlazyload><\/figurlazyload><\/figurlazyload><\/figurlazyload><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2021, a fierce winter storm left millions of Texans without electricity and water for days. Hurricane Helene<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nThe U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season - Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2021, a fierce winter storm left millions of Texans without electricity and water for days. Hurricane Helene\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-30T12:13:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"headline\":\"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T12:13:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338\"},\"wordCount\":1334,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338\",\"name\":\"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season - Cross Country Moving Team\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T12:13:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=338#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cross Country Moving Team\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season - Cross Country Moving Team","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season - Cross Country Moving Team","og_description":"In 2021, a fierce winter storm left millions of Texans without electricity and water for days. Hurricane Helene","og_url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338","og_site_name":"Cross Country Moving Team","article_published_time":"2026-05-30T12:13:44+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"headline":"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season","datePublished":"2026-05-30T12:13:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338"},"wordCount":1334,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338","name":"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season - Cross Country Moving Team","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-30T12:13:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=338#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The U.S. power grid isn\u2019t one big machine \u2014 it\u2019s three. That\u2019s a problem for blackout season"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/","name":"Cross Country Moving Team","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com"],"url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}