Research Reveals Heat Wave Blackouts are a Growing Risk
New research published by the National Library of Medicine (of all places) cites heat wave blackouts as perhaps the deadliest outcome of climate change going forward. The study paints a picture of a grim double-whammy: not only are heat wave blackouts poised to dramatically increase in the years ahead, but cities will be ill-equipped to handle this new norm.
What the Research Reveals About Heat Wave Blackouts
Power outages have increased by over 60% in the last 6 years, and an increasing number of these is due to heat waves. When the lights are off during a heat wave, the research estimates that a whopping 66% of the populations of the largest cities could be susceptible to heat exhaustion or heat stroke. And even though most large cities maintain dedicated cooling centers for the public, maximum capacity typically only covers 2% of a typical large city population.
Clearly, that is not good enough. Already, hot temperatures are the most dangerous severe-weather threat, killing an estimated 12,000 U.S. citizens each year. And thanks to climate change, the frequency and severity of heat waves will almost certainly increase over the next 50 years.
The bottom line is that power outages will probably increase going forward, and so will the frequency and severity of heat waves – meaning that heat-related deaths will also increase. This cold hard truth is something that electric utilities (and, really, utilities in all sectors) need to be prepared for.
For example, from an emergency preparedness perspective, utilities should consider incorporating heat-resistant PPE into their PPE inventory, increasing the number of backup generators that could be provided to at-risk residents, adopting infrastructure-hardening measures that improve the heat-related protective properties of assets and equipment, and collaborating with local municipalities to expand cooling center capacity and similar tactics.
A little planning in this regard will clearly go a long way. While there is nothing we can do to prevent heat wave blackouts, we can at least make sure we’re fully prepared to deal with them when they occur.
