Republicans were on pace to win historic numbers of House and Senate races after two years of anti-fossil fuel policies emanating from the White House and the congressional Democratic majority, policies that led to high gasoline and diesel prices and now, anticipated shortages just as winter descends on the country.
In fact, experts are warning that shortages of diesel fuel and heating oils could be so significant that a quarter of all Americans are facing looming blackouts as temperatures drop.
A new report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a regulatory body that manages grid stability, says that "grids from the Great Lakes to Louisiana, New England, Carolinas, and all of Texas are the most at risk for power supply shortfalls during high-demand periods," Zero Hedge reported Friday.
The organization said that if there is a cold snap for weeks on end, that could lead to major strains on power grids as demand from households and businesses rises significantly. Such demand would lead to rapid drawdowns of natural gas, coal, and backup diesel generators, which could then lead to shortages and power disruptions.
"The trend is we see more areas at risk, we see more retirements of critical generation, fuel challenges and we are doing everything we can. These challenges don't kind of appear out of nowhere," said John Moura, NERC's director of reliability assessment, during a media briefing.
Already, the demand for diesel fuel is rising along the East Coast, despite the fact that Joe Biden's policies have caused the fuel to spike again to nearly $5 a gallon (keep in mind that most everything moves by diesel fuel, so the higher it is, the more inflation will rise). And this comes as diesel supplies are already at record lows; supplies of fuels to power the economy, the grid, and the transportation industry are down to 25 days only.
And, that may be about to get worse.
"Top domestic concerns in the short term are the potential for a rail strike in December, energy shortages that could hit electric grids this Winter, and inflating food prices," said a Friday analysis from private intelligence firm Forward Observer.
"A rail strike in December would have an effect on both energy shortages and food prices as oil and agricultural products move by rail. A concern in the longer term is cyber security vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure. A concerning development is the approaching deadline in January for a plan from the Department of Homeland Security for the continuity of the economy in the case of a catastrophic cyber attack," the analysis continued. "DHS had two years to create this plan and has evaded questioning from lawmakers on its progress."
Later in Friday's assessment:
U.S. gas inventories rose by a record 64 billion cubic feet last week, bringing total stockpiles to 3.644 trillion cubic feet as of 11 November. According to a report from the North American Electric Reliability Council, severe weather this winter may cause demand to outpace supply, but this year’s assessment is less dire than in 2021. The report stated that the grids in Texas and the Northeast are most at risk for supply shortfalls.
Worse, a top oil company CEO predicted that supplies will continue to be tight for at least the next two years -- the remainder of Joe Biden's first term -- meaning prices will remain high, too.
"Hess CEO John Hess stated that underinvestment in shale production will lead to tight oil supplies and modest growth for the next two years. Hess projected U.S. production to peak at 13 million barrels per day and that with shale supplies likely to stay tight, the U.S. will no longer act as a global swing producer," the analysis said.
Anyone who doesn't believe all of this is intentional -- to push a ridiculous, expensive "green" agenda -- is fooling themselves, which explains again why so many Democrats kept their jobs this year.
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