Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., told Newsmax Wednesday that "there's no question" that "we need to address" the vulnerability of the U.S. electrical grid.
"The U.S. energy infrastructure is key to the 21st century economy, and, without it, we are going to be in a mess," Carter said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show." "It would be disastrous."
"We've got to guard against three things," the Georgia Republican continued. "We've got to guard our cyber security. Obviously we understand that, we know that we've had the threat with the Colonial Pipeline. We know what a big threat that was. We've got to guard against natural disasters. Again, we've experienced those before, but I think, even more so, we've got to guard against the failed policies of the Green New Deal and renewable energy."
Colonial Pipeline, one of the nation's largest pipelines, was temporarily shut down in May 2021 due to a cyberattack involving ransomware, according to CNN.
The pipeline transports more than 100 million gallons of gasoline and other fuel daily from Houston to New York Harbor.
While Carter said he's "all for renewable energy," the Peach State congressman said "it's not reliable yet."
"It's not reliable to the point that we can rely on it in order to have our grid there," he said. "We've got to make sure that our grid is resilient and reliable."
Saying that he has traveled to Europe and "seen firsthand" the energy problems there, Carter chalked much of it up to "where they let their policies get ahead of their innovation."
"[They’re] too dependent on wind and solar right now, and they're in for a rough winter in Europe," he said. "Part of the reason is because of what's happening with Russia, but a lot of it is because again, they've let their policies get ahead of their innovation and we should not let that happen here in America."
In California, residents were told to avoid charging electric vehicles during a blistering heat wave in late August over concerns that the state's electrical grid couldn't handle the strain — a week after state regulators voted to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
Pointing to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Carter said that the United States needs to take steps to safeguard its electrical grid.
"Look at what's going on in Ukraine right now," the congressman said. "Russia is attacking their electrical grid. They know that that will cripple them. Well, the same thing could be done to us if we're not careful here."
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