Power grids in the United States are struggling. As temperatures increase and populations grow, so does the stress on systems that keep our electricity running.

For the West, electricity is most important in the hot summer months. It keeps our cool air-conditioners pumping.

Going without air conditioning for too long can be not only an annoyance, but also a major health risk, especially in states like Arizona with over 100-degree averages each summer.

Arizona is drastically below the national average when it comes to grid failures. In the last 24 years, the state has only had six outages due to extreme weather.

This week on Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we'll look into what makes Arizona's power grid efficient and if it is prepared to withstand rising temperatures in the future.

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