A brutal winter storm slammed across two-thirds of the country on January 25–26, 2026, leaving hundreds of thousands — by some counts more than 850,000 and by others pushing past one million — Americans in the dark as ice, sleet and heavy snow snapped trees and downed power lines. These are not minor inconveniences; entire communities faced life-threatening cold without heat or communication for hours and, in some places, for days.
Tragically, the human toll has already mounted, with multiple storm-related deaths reported from hypothermia and hazardous road conditions as emergency services struggle to reach affected areas. When power and heat go out in freezing temperatures, the most vulnerable — the elderly, the sick, and working-class families — suffer first and worst.
Duke Energy officials have been on the scene and in the media, warning customers to prepare and explaining that ice can keep collapsing limbs and lines long after the precipitation stops. Spokespeople, including Jeff Brooks, have emphasized that crews are staged and working as safety allows, but that restoration will take time across a wide service territory.
What this storm also exposed is the fragility of parts of our electricity system when extreme weather and rising demand collide. Grid operators in the East reported massive generation outages and price spikes as gas supplies tightened and cold weather pushed plants offline, showing how thin the margin can be when the system is stressed.
This is where Washington’s priorities deserve blunt scrutiny. For years we’ve been lectured about lofty energy transitions while investment in real-world resilience — hardened lines, more weatherized plants, sensible fuel diversity — lagged. It’s not unpatriotic to demand that policy makers put Americans’ safety and reliable power ahead of ideological experiments that leave homes cold in the dark.
Meanwhile, the crews on the ground deserve something approaching our full-throated gratitude and support; linemen and utility workers are risking frozen conditions to restore service, often cutting through night and ice to bring families back online. Companies like Duke Energy report thousands of personnel deployed and steady progress on restorations, but those numbers also underscore how big the damage is and how much work remains.
Hardworking Americans don’t want platitudes from politicians — they want action. State and federal leaders must prioritize grid resilience: weatherize generation and transmission, streamline permitting for repairs, and ensure fuel supply and backup capacity are robust enough for real winters, not just idealized forecasts.
If there’s a silver lining it’s this: storms expose our weak spots and give us a chance to fix them. Let’s honor the service of those on the line by demanding common-sense fixes that keep the lights on and protect families next time the weather turns.
