FERC 2025 Summer Assessment: Why Is This Blackout Warning Ignored?
On May 15, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its 2025 Summer Assessment, warning of potential power shortages during extreme summer heat. With air conditioners, businesses, and hospitals at risk, this report should be front-page news. Yet, a search conducted today, May 17, 2025, found no coverage in mainstream outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or CNN. Why is a report about keeping the lights on not reaching the public? This article summarizes the assessment’s findings and calls for greater awareness of grid reliability challenges.
FERC and NERC: Guardians of the Grid
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) ensures the reliability of the power grid across the U.S., Canada, and parts of Mexico, serving nearly 400 million people. NERC reports to FERC in the U.S. and Canadian authorities. On May 15, 2025, NERC released its 2025 Summer Reliability Assessment, which FERC adopted and adopted with additional commentary. The report assesses the grid’s ability to meet summer electricity demand, especially under challenging conditions.
Key Findings: A Vulnerable Grid
The FERC and NERC reveal a grid under strain. FERC Chairman Mark Christie stated, “We are losing dispatchable generation at a pace that is not sustainable, and we are not adding sufficient equivalent generation capacity.” Dispatchable generation—power plants like coal, natural gas, or oil that can operate on demand—is being retired faster than it’s replaced.
Key points include:
Extreme Weather Risks: During “extreme summer conditions”—such as heat waves, low wind, or reduced solar output—electricity demand may exceed supply, risking blackouts (NERC Report, p. 3).
Rising Demand: Growing electricity needs are forcing utilities to delay power plant retirements and accelerate grid upgrades (p. 31).
Shift to Renewables: Between 2020 and 2025, 64 GW of new capacity, mostly solar, wind, and battery storage, will be added—a 77% increase over the prior five-year average. Meanwhile, 10 GW of coal, gas, and oil plants will retire (p. 33). Given their operating characteristics, new capacity from solar, wind, or storage facilities does not replace the retired thermal capacity from coal, natural gas, or oil units on a one-for-one basis.
While the grid should handle average summer days, extreme heat could push it to the brink.
A Glaring Media Gap
Despite the report’s urgency, mainstream media have overlooked it. Searches on May 17, 2025, found no stories in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or similar outlets. Only specialized sources like S&P Global and Power Technology, which serve energy professionals, have covered it. Limited discussion on X (e.g., a post by @yourNEWS_com on May 16, 2025) hasn’t broken through. While technical reports can be dense, the threat of power outages during heat waves—affecting families, schools, and healthcare—deserves wider attention.
Why You Should Care
The rapid retirement of dependable power plants and increase to renewable energy increases risks during extreme weather. Without public awareness, communities may be caught off guard by power outages. Policymakers and utilities must balance green energy goals with the need to keep the grid stable, possibly by delaying retirements or investing in backup systems.
Conclusion: Sound the Alarm
The FERC 2025 Summer Assessment is a critical warning: our power grid is at risk. The absence of mainstream media coverage leaves the public unaware of potential blackouts. Journalists and energy experts must bridge this gap, translating technical findings into urgent public stories. Readers can act by following energy policy, supporting grid investments, and pressing leaders to prioritize reliability alongside sustainability. A heat wave could strain our grid—let’s make sure we’re prepared.