Aging Energy Infrastructure, Plus Climate Change, Are a Growing Risk.<br />NPR reports that Texas investigators say that a power pole , "that appeared to be decayed at the base", was the cause of the worst wildfire in the state's history.<br />Xcel Energy, the state's electric <br />utility, said in a statement that , "its facilities appear to have been involved <br />in an ignition of the Smokehouse Creek fire.".<br />Rob Gramlich, president of consulting firm <br />Grid Strategies, warns that many of the U.S.'s <br />power lines were built 60 to 70 years ago. .<br />According to Gramlich, most electric utility providers<br />in the U.S. lack the technology to let them know <br />when power lines are overheating or sagging.<br />Combined with increased temperatures <br />and drier vegetation, this aging infrastructure <br />could spark larger, more intense wildfires.<br />There are some utilities <br />that are really leaders and <br />are getting ahead of the risk, Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy <br />Policy Program at the Woods Institute for <br />the Environment at Stanford University, via NPR.<br />And then there are others <br />that we look at and think are <br />walking into a catastrophe, Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy <br />Policy Program at the Woods Institute for <br />the Environment at Stanford University, via NPR.<br />According to experts, wildfire prevention <br />can not only impact safety, but also the <br />cost of energy bills across the nation.<br />We cannot afford – literally, <br />in terms of our pocketbooks – <br />to have utilities be perceived <br />by their investors as high risk, Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy <br />Policy Program at the Woods Institute for <br />the Environment at Stanford University, via NPR.<br />There is a set of practices <br />that utilities can take that <br />do not cost an arm and a leg <br />that can dramatically cut <br />the risk of outcomes <br />like we saw in Texas, Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy <br />Policy Program at the Woods Institute for <br />the Environment at Stanford University, via NPR
