More than 100,000 Maine residents were left without power for over 48 hours in March due to damaged transmission lines caused by an ice storm. While extreme weather can make power outages seem random or unpreventable, insufficient transmission is increasingly becoming a challenge facing the energy grid.

A poorly supported, planned, and maintained transmission grid will threaten reliability and result in higher electricity prices for everyday people. According to the Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office, 70% of our nation’s existing transmission lines are over 25 years old. This means the vast majority of America’s grid infrastructure is approaching the back half of its 50-year-average lifespan and is desperately in need of an upgrade.