As we head into the sweltering hot days of August, Americans across the country are facing all kinds of extreme weather. The Eastern United States was pounded with storms that knocked out power for millions of homes and businesses. And, the summer heat in other areas is straining our electrical grid as Americans crank up their air conditioning.

This is the time of year when clean, affordable, reliable energy sources like American natural gas are most important to produce electricity and keep our power on. We all know the danger of losing power during the cold winter months, but protection from the heat of the summer is equally as important. One recent study found that a multi-day blackout in a city like Phoenix, Arizona could kill 13,000 people and send half the city to the emergency room.

While that sounds like a far-fetched movie plot, it’s much closer to reality than it should be. A report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation earlier this year said that nearly two-thirds of the U.S. is at risk for energy shortfalls during the summer months. This is literally a matter of life or death for many Americans, and we can’t gamble on unreliable and intermittent energy sources to power our electrical grid.

For more information about how natural gas is the clean, affordable and reliable energy source (CARES) that keeps America’s power on, check out TEA’s Common Sense Energy Agenda.