
America’s aging power grid faces new demands | The Excerpt
USA TODAY
The U.S. power grid is under strain. Aging infrastructure, rising demand and extreme weather are testing reliability.
On the Monday, March 23, 2026, episode of The Excerpt podcast: Aging infrastructure, rising demand and extreme weather are testing the U.S. power grid in new ways. How can we ensure its reliability? University of Michigan Associate Professor Johanna Mathieu joins The Excerpt to explain how we can balance supply and demand to ensure we keep the lights on.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Dana Taylor:
It's not if, but when the next big power grid failure will happen. Major recent failures have exposed the grid's vulnerabilities from the massive Northeast blackout in 2003 to the deadly Texas power outages during the winter of 2021. Add to that, the critical fire risk caused by aging transmission lines, the cause of California's deadliest and most destructive fire that decimated the town of Paradise back in 2018.













