China sharply criticizes Texas blackout as a systemic problem in the US...

Aging Facilities, State Government's Selfishness, and Private Power Companies' Profit-Seeking Cause Issues
Some US Politicians Raise New Energy Policies Unrelated to Blackouts, Leading to Political Conflicts

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Chinese media harshly criticized the U.S. government, calling the Texas blackout a man-made disaster caused by the lack of national infrastructure and government coordination capabilities.

The state-run Global Times reported on the 19th that the United States, the most powerful country on Earth, is experiencing natural disasters such as a blackout that caused more than 30 deaths. The media sarcastically pointed out that the U.S. government's incompetence, which was revealed during the COVID-19 prevention process, was also evident in the Texas blackout incident.

In particular, the Global Times reported that the U.S. political sphere only engaged in political fights, such as criticizing new energy policies unrelated to the blackout incident.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Global Times pointed out that the fundamental problems of this blackout incident stem from structural issues in American society, such as aging power facilities and the selfishness of state governments.

The media cited a 2015 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report, stating that 70% of U.S. power transformers are over 25 years old, 60% of circuit breakers are over 30 years old, and 70% of transmission lines are over 25 years old. Because of this, the Global Times explained that the U.S. experiences the most blackouts among developed countries.

The Global Times reported that an average of 3,188 blackouts occurred annually over ten years from 2008 to 2017. In July 2019, a large-scale blackout occurred in New York, and at the end of that year, a massive blackout hit a coastal city in California, causing suffering for more than 300,000 people.

The Global Times criticized that despite DOE's warnings about the national power grid, the U.S. government fails to play its role by entrusting problems to private power companies that pursue only profits, resulting in frequent blackout incidents.

It also pointed out that Texas's power system is not connected to other regional power grids, so there is no way to resolve problems when they occur.

Lin Boqing, Director of the China Energy Policy at Xiamen University, explained, "The U.S. does not have a nationwide power grid allocation system like China," adding, "Because other states cannot send power to Texas, the blackout continues and the damage is severe."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.