ePRA Organizes Panel Discussion at Midwest Food Products Association Annual Convention

EmPower Rural America recently facilitated a critical panel discussion addressing "Rising Grid Instability: A Key Driver of Escalating Food Industry Costs and Consumer Prices." The event highlighted the alarming challenges posed by aging infrastructure, extreme weather events, and rising electricity demand. These factors are straining the grid’s reliability and threatening industries reliant on stable power, particularly food processing facilities.

Food manufacturers depend on uninterrupted electricity to sustain operations. Power outages or disruptions can halt production, clog equipment, and disrupt supply chains, leading to significant financial losses and increased consumer food prices. Panelists Rob Gramlich (President, Grid Strategies), John Bode (President, Corn Refiners Association), and Todd Stuart (Executive Director, Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group) underscored the urgent need for grid reliability to safeguard American manufacturing competitiveness.

Grid instability disproportionately affects rural areas, which may miss economic opportunities due to insufficient infrastructure. As demand surges—driven by electrification, data centers, and extreme weather—the U.S. faces a looming reliability crisis. With 70% of the grid over 25 years old, modernization is imperative.

Solutions include strengthening power generation, enhancing transmission networks, and implementing robust resiliency measures. Without action, escalating grid instability threatens American food producers, exacerbates reliance on imports, and jeopardizes supply chains, making proactive investment in grid reliability essential for economic and food security.