Power grids worldwide are essential to daily life—but are increasingly stressed by a complex mix of hazards, including space weather, extreme weather on Earth, and wildfires. These hazards don’t act in isolation—they can overlap, follow one another, or trigger cascading failures, making the system more vulnerable in ways that traditional risk models often miss and that we therefore do not well understand.

In this project, we bring together historical data, advanced network analysis, and direct insights from power grid operators to understand how these hazards interact and affect the grid. We use real-world and hypothetical event scenarios to reveal hidden weak points and new patterns of risk that emerge only when we look at multiple threats together.

Our work provides new tools for evaluating and managing these risks, especially in uncertain conditions. We also highlight a broader global effort to turn this understanding into practical strategies and policies for making infrastructure systems more resilient—and ultimately to support flourishing across science and society.