Periods of extreme heat stress the grid by spiking demand for electricity as families and businesses crank up the air conditioning to stay cool. Power grid officials have warned that large swaths of the United States could face blackouts if it’s a hot summer. “Two-thirds of North America is at risk of energy shortfalls this summer during periods of extreme demand,” the North American Energy Reliability Corporation (NERC) concluded in its summer outlook published last month. The risk of blackouts comes into play only if there is extreme heat. But many Americans in the South and Central regions of the United States are dealing with extreme heat right now.

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Persons: NERC, ” NERC Organizations: New York CNN Business, North American Energy Reliability Corporation, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, US Energy Information Administration Locations: United States, North America, Mississippi, Central, Texas . New England, Ontario, “, South, Arizona, Alabama, West Texas, Pacific Northwest, Southwest , Texas, Southeast, Texas, Nevada , Utah, Gulf Coast