A terrorist attack on the U.S. power grid could result in the deaths of thousands of people, as well as incurring costs of hundreds of billions of dollars, according to the National Academy of Sciences.
While such an attack would not immediately kill people, an article from Businessweek reports, the widespread blackouts afterward could last for weeks or months. If the event occurred during extreme weather, heat or exposure to cold could lead to “hundreds or even thousands of deaths,” the authors of a recently declassified Academy report wrote.