Silver State Times

Industry experts are warning that Nevada and many parts of the United States could face increased electricity blackouts due to sweltering temperatures this summer.

Many blame President Joe Biden's policies and a research fellow for energy and environmental issues at The Heritage Foundation says Biden's version of “energy independence” during an energy crisis is headed in the wrong direction.

"When Biden speaks of energy independence, he means forcing a rapid transition to renewable energy technologies and aggressively phasing out conventional fuels," Katie Tubb, a research fellow for energy and environmental issues at The Heritage Foundation, wrote in April.

Tubb claims that by appropriating terms such as “independence,” “clean,” and “innovation,” the Biden administration is pushing for "advancing costly policies that ultimately will eliminate conventional fuels by regulatory fiat." She also stated that the "self-imposed energy scarcity" is exactly what Biden promised during his campaign in 2019.

During a campaign event in Newcastle, New Hampshire in September 2019, Joe Biden told a questioner, "Look into my eyes. I guarantee you we’re going to end fossil fuels.”

Like Biden, U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada supports the movement to end fossil fuels and is an advocate for renewable energy, siding with anti-American energy policies. She currently has a lifetime score of 97% from the League of Conservation Voters, an organization that seeks to “fight fossil fuel extraction, including phasing out new fossil fuel leasing on our public lands and oceans,” according to the National Environmental Scorecard.

In 2019, Cortez Masto cosponsored the Clean Energy for America Act and claimed, "Nevada’s leadership in renewable energy technology is setting an example to the rest of the country on how we can move away from our unsustainable dependency on fossil fuels," according to a May 2019 press release.

The Washington Post reported that the nation’s power grid is under stress like never before due to retiring fossil fuel plants and extreme weather. Regulators warn that the kind of rolling outages currently common in California and Texas are likely to be more widespread with the arrival of hot weather this summer.

During a press briefing at the U.S. Energy Association in May, Biden noted that part of his efforts included the phasing out of fossil fuel units before new batteries are available, according to National Review. Previously, the White House also announced Biden’s long-term strategy to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050.

John Bear, CEO of Midcontinent Independent System Operator — which services the Midwest corridor from Minnesota to the Texas Panhandle — is one expert who affirms that a summer of widespread blackouts is likely, with the Midwest being at the highest risk, National Review reported. Bear cited the Biden administration’s effort to transition America’s six energy grids to a decarbonized system as part of the problem.

The blackout warnings come amid skyrocketing energy prices across the country. According to National Review, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the independent body that oversees the U.S. electricity grid, estimates power prices in the Midwest could soar by as much as 233% at the peak of summer — an increase boosted by high gas prices and high demand as temperatures rise.

Republican commissioners on the FERC, joined by some industry groups, argued for a slower transition to renewable energy to ensure shortfalls are avoided. During FERC’s monthly meeting in May, Mark Christie, one of the commission's Republican members and a Trump appointee said, “We’re headed for a reliability crisis. We’re just not ready yet," according to National Review.

Meanwhile, Democrats on the commission have sought to paint power transmission issues as the reason for periodic blackouts, and not the energy transition.