The Disturbing Truth Behind Our Failing Grid

Amanda Heckman|December 10, 2022

It’s gone from bad to worse for America’s energy grid.

It wasn’t enough for it to have to battle aging infrastructure, severe weather and soaring demand?

Now we’re adding domestic attacks to the list?

Last Saturday, 45,000 residents of Moore County, North Carolina, sat in darkness after two of the county’s electric substations went down. Turns out equipment at those two locations was fired at, causing damage beyond repair.

Power finally came back on late Wednesday… just a day before report of gunfire at a hydropower station in South Carolina. This incident, thankfully, caused no damages or outages.

Our power grid was under enough stress before these rogue attacks, thank you very much.

Simply put, our grid is a mess. And we can be sure things are going to get worse before they get better.

And that spells opportunity for investors.

Wired for Failure

America’s power grid is showing its age. Just look at the stark increase in the number of outages we’ve seen over the last two decades.

In 2000, there were fewer than two dozen major disruptions. In 2020, there were more than 180.

There’s a good reason for the increase. Much of the system that carries electricity far and wide was built just after World War II. (The grid’s beginnings date back to the late 1800s.)

Some 70% the grid’s transmission and distribution lines are fast approaching the end of their lifespans.

Yet a report last year from the American Society of Civil Engineers found that by 2029, the U.S. will need about $200 billion more than is currently allocated to strengthen the grid and meet renewable energy goals.

Yikes.

We’re at a critical point in our energy cycle. The government is trying to steer us away from fossil fuels and into more renewable energy sources…

But our demands on the grid are only increasing. As time goes by, we’ll use more electronic devices… drive more electric cars… and even operate more electric appliances (as states move to ban natural gas furnaces and stoves).

While the push to renewables has created a host of new problems… from solar and wind’s unreliable output to the grid’s inability to store unused clean energy or move it to other high-demand regions…

Our energy troubles started a long, long time ago.

As Andy explains in the latest issue of Manward Letter, one billionaire convinced (forced?) the U.S. to go all-in on just one source of energy… and we’re paying for it today.

If the U.S. had explored many forms of energy a century ago, including alcohol and biofuels, our energy grid – no, the entire energy sector – would look monumentally different today.

With diverse options would come energy independence… and profits spread far and wide.

And that’s why Andy’s convinced his latest recommendation could double very quickly. It’s a unique company looking to alleviate one of the energy sector’s biggest pain points. I urge all Manward Letter subscribers to check out the December issue on our website.

There’s no question that the companies addressing our energy sector’s problems will become extremely attractive as our grid struggles to keep up with demand.

At the very least, let’s start by putting better fencing around our vulnerable substations.