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Greener Living

How Big Batteries Could Prevent Summer Power Blackouts

With record heat and renewable energy on tap, socking away electricity could make all the difference in Texas and across the Midwest. 

Power transmission lines near Austin, Texas.

Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg

Takeaways by Bloomberg AI

In any other year, May 14 may well have been an energy disaster in Texas.

Temperatures climbed to seasonal levels not seen in over a century: 92F in Dallas, 95F in Houston and 104F in Laredo. Air conditioners hummed en masse and power demand surged. Meanwhile, scores of natural-gas powered generators were offline, getting tuned up for summer.