NYS Senator James Sanders Jr. urges grid modernization to guard susceptible communities like Southeast Queens from future crises.
Photograph courtesy of the workplace of Sen. Sanders
We don’t typically take into consideration the place our electrical energy comes from once we flip a swap or plug in a charger, but it surely powers almost each side of our each day lives. It’s simple to take our electrical grid with no consideration till one thing goes unsuitable. However the actuality is that our grid is ageing, overburdened, and have to be modernized to maintain up with right now’s calls for. If we don’t act now, we’re risking energy outages, increased power prices, and unreliable service.
This isn’t only a drawback right here in New York—it’s a nationwide one. Throughout the nation, a lot of our electrical transmission system was constructed a long time in the past, designed for a time earlier than all our units wanted to be charged, electrical autos, and sensible know-how. As our power wants developed, our grid hasn’t stored tempo. With out the mandatory upgrades and construct out, we could possibly be coping with blackouts, energy failures, and an outdated system that simply can’t ship the dependable service we’d like.
In New York, greater than 80% of our transmission system was constructed earlier than 1980. Specialists warn that if we don’t modernize, New York Metropolis and surrounding areas might face severe reliability points, together with blackouts, throughout the subsequent eight years. This isn’t a distant drawback; it’s one thing we should deal with now. Superstorm Sandy is a transparent instance of why updates to our electrical transmission programs are urgently wanted. Southeast Queens and the Rockaways bore the brunt of the devastation, with complete neighborhoods submerged underneath 5 to 6 ft of water.
Communities like mine can’t proceed to endure this degree of destruction with out crucial infrastructure enhancements.
Upgrading our power programs isn’t only a necessity, it’s a chance. A modernized system means a extra sustainable power future and a extra strong economic system with the creation of good-paying jobs and enterprise alternative.
Most significantly, we’d like to ensure the communities most susceptible to power disruptions are prioritized. I’ve seen firsthand how excessive climate and energy failures influence the neighborhoods in my district, and so they cannot be ignored as we spend money on upgrades. Tasks just like the Snake Street research spotlight the pressing want for infrastructure upgrades. Whereas efforts to deal with continual flooding alongside Brookville Boulevard are a step ahead, a long time of neglect have left communities like South Jamaica susceptible. Too many lives have been misplaced to preventable hazards, and with out actual enhancements, historical past will repeat itself. The identical applies to power disruptions, which hit hardest in low-income neighborhoods with fewer sources to get better. Prioritizing these communities in infrastructure investments isn’t just essential—it’s a matter of survival.
*State Senator James Sanders Jr. represents New York’s tenth Senate District, which incorporates the neighborhoods of Southeast Queens similar to Far Rockaway, Rosedale, Laurelton, Springfield Gardens and elements of Jamaica. A lifelong public servant with over 20 years of expertise, he presently serves as Chair of the Senate Banking Committee and Vice President of the Nationwide Black Caucus of State Legislators.
