Coastal Utilities Face Potentially Grim Future

Coastal utilities could be facing a grim future if current weather trends continue for much longer.  Coastlines are at risk of eroding away, increasing the exposure of coastal communities to the impact of flooding and storm surges.  Obviously, this would not only increase outage frequency, but it would also increase the frequency of damage to utility infrastructure and equipment.

Why are Coastal Utilities in this Predicament?

There are essentially two key reasons for this, and they are both related to climate change.

First, over the past few decades, the frequency and severity of weather events has increased dramatically, which has accelerated coastal erosion and increased the risk exposure of coastal communities.

Second, warming ocean temperatures are killing off certain coastal habitats.  The loss of mangroves, coastal marshes and reefs has been nothing short of dramatic over the last 40 years.  These coastal habitats provide protective qualities, and now that they are going away, coastal areas are more exposed than ever to the impact of severe weather.

So, yes, it looks grim for coastal utilities across all sectors, but thankfully, not all hope is lost.  The coastal utilities that I have talked to, that are in the line of fire so to speak, have been aware of, and planning for, these potential threats for years.  I’m confident the appropriate business decisions will be made to minimize the impact.

Additionally, politicians, including President Biden, are well aware of the risk to coastal communities in general, and because of this, the issue is finally getting some much-needed attention from those who can do actually something about it.

Finally, scientists have increased their efforts to restore the depleted coastal habitats, by replanting mangroves for example.

With all that being said, coastal utility decision makers can only control what they can control, but hopefully with proper planning, and a little good fortune in the legislative and scientific communities, the worst-case scenario can be avoided.