The first major winter storm of 2026 is here, with tens-of-millions of Americans across a 2,000 mile stretch of the country affected. And no surprise, the nation's shaky supply of power is once again under the microscope.

The challenges grid operators are facing in keeping the power flowing have been years in the making.

Deeply unwise decisions to tear down essential power plants – namely coal capacity – have left the nation short of dispatchable power—and remarkably unprepared for rapidly rising power demand from electrification and the data center boom.

The nation's grid reliability regulators have repeatedly warned that major, multistate storms and plunging temperatures now pose a severe threat to our supply of power.

Regional grids lean on each other to navigate peak demand and power shortages. But when multiple grids fall short of power, there is no cavalry to ride to the rescue. Of course, that wasn't always the case.

There's a very good reason the Trump administration has zeroed in on keeping coal power plants on the grid and stopping plant retirements.

Time and again, during winter emergencies, coal generation has surged power when other sources of electricity haven't been able to.

As the nation faces rising power prices – up 40% since 2020 – increased natural gas price volatility and a grid reliability crisis, there's no threading the affordability and reliability needle without the coal fleet.