By Matt Sepic, KWMU
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwmu/local-kwmu-594383.mp3
St. Louis, MO – Most of us have a pretty vague idea, if any, of how the nation's power grid really works. Electrons take quite a complex path on their way from the generating plant to our bedside lamps. Add in the myriad of state and federal regulations, and things get even more confusing.
Jason Makansi, a power industry consultant who lives in St. Louis, says critical parts of the electric infrastructure are falling apart, and oversight is lacking.
Makansi just wrote a new book called Lights Out. He told KWMU's Matt Sepic there are plenty of generating plants making power. But the system to distribute that electricity is in dire straits.