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What's plaguing America's power grid?

America's electric grid has a problem. What's the fix?
Grant Faint
/
Getty Images
America's electric grid has a problem. What's the fix?

The United States' power grid is a nearly 100-year-old network of electrical circuits. That network is facing increased demand: In 2022, the United States used 4 trillion kilowatts of electrify — 14 times as much as was used in 1950. It also faces weather-related stress from extreme weather that's becoming more common with climate change.

So, we wanted to know: What will it take to modernize this aging infrastructure that's become so essential to our daily lives? We interrogate that question today with the help of Anjan Bose, an electrical engineer at Washington State University.


Interested in more stories about electricity? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and edited by Berly McCoy. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Hannah Chinn
Hannah Chinn (they/them) is a producer on NPR's science podcast Short Wave. Prior to joining Short Wave, they produced Good Luck Media's inaugural "climate thriller" podcast. Before that, they worked on Spotify & Gimlet Media shows such as Conviction, How to Save a Planet and Reply All. Previous pit stops also include WHYY, as well as Willamette Week and The Philadelphia Inquirer. In between, they've worked a number of non-journalism gigs at various vintage stores, coffee shops and haunted houses.
Regina G. Barber
Regina G. Barber is Short Wave's Scientist in Residence. She contributes original reporting on STEM and guest hosts the show.
Berly McCoy
Kimberly (Berly) McCoy (she/her) is an assistant producer for NPR's science podcast, Short Wave. The podcast tells stories about science and scientists, in all the forms they take.
Rebecca Ramirez (she/her) is the founding producer of NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. It's a meditation in how to be a Swiss Army Knife, in that it involves a little of everything — background research, finding and booking sources, interviewing guests, writing, cutting the tape, editing, scoring ... you get the idea.