West Virginia business runs on power. Every morning, owners unlock doors, start machines, boot servers, and flip on lights assuming the electricity will be there. Most days, it is. But that assumption is getting riskier.
Across the state, employers already juggle competition, workforce shortages, and supply chain delays. Power should not be another variable. Yet for many businesses, it is. When electricity flickers or fails, the damage is immediate. Assembly lines stop. Grocery cases warm. Data systems crash. Workers lose hours. Families feel it at the kitchen table.
This is no small inconvenience. It is a direct threat to our economy.
Much of West Virginia’s transmission system was built more than 50 years ago. Over half of those lines are nearing the end of their useful life. Add decades of increasingly severe weather, with more than $40 billion in damage nationwide, and the strain becomes clear. Old infrastructure and extreme conditions create a fragile system. When it breaks, businesses pay the price and families pay the price. That fragility hits every corner of the economy. Large manufacturers lose production time. Small businesses lose customers. Hospitals and data centers must invest in costly backup systems just to operate with confidence. Those costs show up in prices, wages, and missed opportunities.
The West Virginia Business and Industry Council has long said business success rests on four pillars. Infrastructure. Workforce development. A fair legal system. Fiscal responsibility. The electric grid supports all four. Without reliable power, job growth stalls. Competitiveness fades. Responsible budgeting becomes harder when businesses must plan for outages instead of expansion.
West Virginia’s workforce understands resilience. Nearly 400,000 workers keep showing up, adapting, and pushing forward. They deserve an electric system that does the same. A modern grid is not about bells and whistles. It means upgraded transmission lines. Modern switching equipment. Stronger corridors. Smart systems that detect problems before they cascade.
Other states have learned this lesson. After the 2021 winter storm, Texas invested roughly $3 to $4 billion to harden its grid. In the years that followed, it led the nation in economic growth and stayed above national averages. Smaller states prove the point too. Rhode Island invested steadily in grid resilience and now attracts high value industries like biomedicine, defense, and advanced manufacturing.
Electricity is not abstract. It powers every machine tool, hospital monitor, checkout register, and broadband router. It is what people expect when they flip a switch and what businesses require to stay open.
Entrepreneurs often say systems fail when they are built only for today. Growth exposes weaknesses fast. That warning applies directly to West Virginia’s electric backbone.
This is the moment to act. Upgrading our grid protects jobs, incomes, and investment. It keeps businesses competitive and communities strong. Tell your representatives you want a grid built for the future. One that keeps the lights on, paychecks steady, and West Virginia open for business.
