U.S Electric Utility Adaptation to Natural Disasters Shocks and Green Power Mandates

Access to electricity is a crucial determinant of quality of life and productivity. The United States has a highly reliable electricity grid but it faces new resilience challenges posed by more intense natural disasters and rising state level green power requirements. Using a U.S electric utility panel dataset from 2013 to 2020, we document that natural disaster exposure disrupts service, but utilities have made some progress in adapting to such shocks. Over the last decade, there has been a tradeoff between achieving local carbon mitigation goals and offering reliable power access.