Viewpoint: Austin Energy made semiconductor crisis worse

Local leaders in our government and at our utilities need to take this sector seriously and not get complacent with lack of investment in transmission infrastructure or make unnecessary decisions that result in catastrophic loss, this expert writes. "A semiconductor factory is not like our homes or even other factories that can simply flip a switch to seamlessly start running everything again. Their tools are not designed to be without power. It is likely they will be unable to operate for several more weeks, and in the meantime the global semiconductor shortage will grow along with the economic harm to these companies."