Grid Underinvestment Hits Home

Proactively investing in the grid isn’t optional; it’s essential to avoid outages and build a system that is safer, more reliable, and more resilient. S&C’s Kumar Chandran recently shared recommendations for a grid that will meet our future power needs and withstand winter's challenges in the Chicago Tribune:

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

This old expression is usually invoked when talking about health, but it’s just as applicable to the electric grid. Utilities, communities and countries worldwide face a choice: Invest now or pay more later.

Chicago got an early reminder of that reality in late 2025, when freezing temperatures rolled in and a historic burst of November snowfall covered the city, further straining local infrastructure that had been battered by extreme winds, which caused thousands of outages. It was an unmistakable sign of what meteorologists say could be a volatile winter — not just for the Midwest, but for cities across the country where extreme cold, wind and ice are becoming more frequent and less predictable.

The Climate Prediction Center for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued its 2025-26 winter predictions, indicating dramatic volatility ahead. La Niña, a climate pattern characterized by lower-than-average sea surface temperatures, is predicted to increase regional swings between heavy precipitation, ice and bitter cold, which can drive unexpected outages and surges in energy demand.

Put plainly, this winter season will be unpredictable, posing a mounting risk to communities across the country relying on an aging electrical distribution grid.

Each year of underinvestment in our grid compounds the vulnerability of our infrastructure, pushing the cost of future repairs and upgrades higher. We must stop reacting to events. Instead, we — industry, utilities, regulators and consumers — must work together to invest in and build a better grid.

Read the full op-ed here:

Opinion: Grid underinvestment could hit home this holiday season