Upcoming widespread blackouts ‘national disgrace’ for US: report

NEW YORK - The United States won't have enough power to get through the summer heat wave, leaving its people at risk of widespread power outages, particularly across the Midwest region, stretching from Minnesota to Louisiana, which has enjoyed stable electricity for decades, said The Washington Post on Tuesday.

"This is a national disgrace. Access to cheap, abundant energy is a hallmark of a free society," said the Opinion article authored by Marc A. Thiessen, a Post columnist on foreign and domestic policy. The Joe Biden administration will "almost certainly blame summer blackouts on climate change," it noted.

A "major reason" for the coming shortages is early shuttering of fossil-fuel plants, particularly coal, that are needed to meet increased summer electricity demand, said the report, citing the war on fossil fuels waged by the U.S. federal government.

"Some of the coal plants that regulators assumed would keep running for another year or two are instead coming offline" because "plant operators are choosing to shut down rather than invest in upgrades for coal plants," it said.

"When you announce that you intend to drive an industry out of existence, people do not invest in it. And when you try to end fossil fuels before a renewable-energy infrastructure exists to replace it, the result is shortages and blackouts," it added.