Perhaps the complete collapse of the Texas power grid is a good opportunity to discuss the importance of power infrastructure in the United States and how much our lack of a modern smart grid is really holding back innovation and greater efficiency for everyone.

There are parts of our power infrastructure, especially in rural areas, that hasn't been meaningfully updated since the 1960s-1970s.

There are tons of siloed, aging systems like in Texas, which bottlenecks their ability to move all he wind and solar power Texas generates.

These old grids create waste on every end. I wouldn't feel great driving a 60 year old car, especially if it had to run properly every single hour of every single day or risk killing people.

Infrastructure Week doesn't need to be a punchline. Let's use it to talk smart grid.

The lack of a smart grid will cost the USA more and more as other countries modernize. If we want widespread electric vehicle charging facilities, better load management, easier energy transport, you *need* a smart grid.

We've pushed 20th Century power infra to its limits.

And hey, for good measure a smart grid is one of the best ways to make our power infrastructure resilient against the challenges of climate change. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/climate/texas-power-grid-failures.html?referringSource=articleShare

No one on Capitol Hill is appropriately serious about our infrastructure challenges and what that means for every facet of our national life.

Talking about smart grid sounds dull and boring until you realize getting it wrong like this is measured in body bags.