A massive number of electric vehicles (EVs) will soon be populating our roads, but our nation’s electric grid is woefully unprepared to supply the additional capacity required to fuel these vehicles.

Even this summer, the entire Western electricity grid is facing the threat of blackouts for lack of adequate supply. If our transportation future is transitioning toward electric, something has to give.

The pivot to EVs is growing, with a half-dozen automakers so far announcing plans to go all-electric. The Biden administration has made EVs a centerpiece of its climate and infrastructure plan, proposing $174 billion for new charging networks and consumer incentives. From Teslas to the new F-150 Lightning truck, EVs are arriving in ever-growing numbers and transforming power demand.

California’s rolling blackouts last year, followed by the Texas grid catastrophe in February—and now the threat of blackouts across the Western U.S. this summer—are a wakeup call. We need a grid we can count on. Ensuring we do means properly valuing the dispatchable, reliable generating capacity we already have.