Jakarta – A recent study found that poorer communities face significantly longer waits for electricity restoration, the researchers write in The Conversation. The study, led by Chuanyi Ji, Associate Professor of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Scott C. Ganz, Associate Teaching Professor of Business and Economics at Georgetown University, revealed the stark disparities in power outage recovery times across socioeconomic divides.
The study analysed data from over 15 million consumers affected by hurricanes in the United States between January 2017 and October 2020. According to the study, a decrease in socioeconomic status, as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social vulnerability index, corresponds to a 6.1 per cent increase in the duration of power outages. This translates to an average additional wait of 170 minutes, and in some cases, much longer. The implications of this finding are profound, highlighting a critical area for policy intervention and utility company practices.
Implications for policy and utilities
The research suggests that the longer outage times in less affluent communities may be an unintended consequence of utility companies’ standard storm recovery policies. These policies often prioritise critical infrastructure and large commercial customers, inadvertently placing vulnerable communities at the end of the recovery queue. The study posits that these communities might be located further from essential infrastructure or reside in areas with outdated power systems requiring more extensive repairs.
The prolonged power outages in these communities delay the restoration of normalcy and pose severe risks, from spoiling food to exacerbating the effects of severe weather on uninsured or underinsured households. As severe weather events become increasingly familiar with climate change, the urgency to address these disparities grows.
Strategies for equitable power recovery
The study offers several recommendations to make power recovery efforts less biased. Utilities and policymakers are encouraged to reevaluate their restoration practices and infrastructure maintenance priorities, focusing on equity. By leveraging detailed data on power usage and grid performance, utility companies can experiment with alternative recovery routines that consider customer vulnerability without significantly affecting overall recovery times.
Furthermore, initiatives like the U.S. Department of Energy’s investment in resilience hubs and microgrids, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and the Justice40 program aim to direct a significant portion of federal investment benefits to these areas. Such efforts can ensure that vulnerable populations are better prepared for outages and have access to alternative power sources. (nsh)
