Communities from California to New England are at risk of power shortages this summer, with heat expected to strain electric grids that serve more than 40% of the U.S. population. The sweeping warning from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation comes after California and Texas both suffered weather-related blackouts affecting millions during the past nine months. While the agency has previously warned that the U.S. West faces ongoing energy shortages, its report Wednesday highlighted for the first time that parts of New England and the Midwest are also at elevated risk if temperatures are above normal. “This is probably the starkest, most widespread caution that we have delivered,” said John Moura, director of reliability assessment and performance analysis at NERC, which has been publishing such assessments for 50 years. “The loss of electricity impacts us more than it ever has and the risk has increased more than it ever […]