America’s electric grid has a problem. What’s the fix?
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Grant Faint/Getty Images
America’s electric grid has a problem. What’s the fix?
Grant Faint/Getty Images
The United States’ power grid is a nearly 100-year-old network of electrical circuits. That network is facing increased demand: In 2022, the United States used 4 trillion kilowatts of electrify — 14 times as much as was used in 1950. It also faces weather-related stress from extreme weather that’s becoming more common with climate change.
So, we wanted to know: What will it take to modernize this aging infrastructure that’s become so essential to our daily lives? We interrogate that question today with the help of Anjan Bose, an electrical engineer at Washington State University.
Interested in more stories about electricity? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and edited by Berly McCoy. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer.
